Noah's Ark
by Hane no Zaia
Summary: Sick and tired of Cross, Allen Walker joins the Earl, a choice which changes everything. But as time goes on and new things come to compete for his loyalty, will he remain a servant or switch sides, taking his destined place as the Destroyer of Time?
1. Prophecies Gone Awry

**(Edited 13/12-12)**

_Insert random disclaimer here / Don't own, don't sue, please drop a review._

**- ****o0o -**

**Prophecies Gone Awry**

**- ****o0o -**

"Mana…"

It was snowing on that day, just like back then, on that very same day that person had picked him up and they had started their journey. But he was dead now, dead and cold; colder than ice and buried a pile of equally cold earth.

He – a red-haired grey-eyed child – choked down on a sob, leaning his back against the gravestone behind him while watching the cross before him, a crude memento of his former companion.

"Mana Walker… Shall I resurrect him for you?"

He looked up, coming face to face with a stranger, a funny-looking man in a coat and a top hat who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

The child looked at him, undecided between allowing himself a flicker of hope and resigning to a state of bottomless despair. "Can you do that?"

The stranger chuckled. "I am the Earl of the Millennium. I can bring him back to life."

Grief-stricken or not, he really should have known better…

The Earl's grin widened, and amber-coloured eyes – halfway hidden behind glass lenses – bore down on the child. The boy would take the deal and would attempt to bring his beloved guardian back to life, no matter what the price, and he would be killed, as was his fate. It was nothing worth pitying, not at all. They were all little but pawns to him anyway, tools for him to achieve his goal.

He brought out the skeleton-like doll before the boy. "All you need to do is to call out his name and Mana Walker will be revived."

It was just another tragedy. It was just another akuma to create, or at least he thought so…

**- ****o0o -**

_"__Mana!"_

**- ****o0o -**

But this child – this boy – turned out to be an exception. The boy was an accommodator of Innocence, as he was soon to realise, but he was so much more than that, even though neither knew it at the time.

"How dare you?! How dare you turn me into an akuma?!"

The child was on the ground, frightened, and flinched when the akuma called out to him, rushing towards him. Then, he was bleeding and he screamed.

"I curse you! I curse you, Allen Walker!"

There was a shredding sound as the boy's arm – infested with that vile thing called Innocence – as it activated in response to the danger to the boy's life, seemingly unwilling to allow its host to be killed, and the boy panicked. "Mana! Get away! Mana! No!"

The Innocence on the other hand cared little for its host's pleas, and tore the akuma apart.

"Allen… I love you…"

**- ****o0o -**

There was a redheaded man kneeling next to him where he lay slumped against the gravestone, his grey eyes duller than ever. "An akuma's soul has no freedom; it's eternally restrained as the Earl's toy," the man said, seemingly uncaring as to whether or not the child was listening to him. "There's no way to save it except to destroy it…" his eyes trailed off to the boy's deformed arm as it had returned to its original state. "You seem to bear an unfortunate fate, being born with an anti-akuma weapon…"

At the mention of the familiar word the boy looked up slightly.

"It looks as though you are also an apostle still possessed by God," the red-haired man continued. "Won't you become an exorcist?"

The boy raised his head a bit and their eyes met. The cut on his face started bleeding again.

The red-haired man offered the child a hand, and the boy took it after a brief moment of hesitation.

**- ****o0o -**

From that day and onward, Allen Walker unofficially became the apprentice of Cross Marian, an exorcist general of the Black Order. The general was known for his sinful life, his debt-making, his womanizing… It was a truly pitiful fate that had befallen Allen Walker, who was likely merely ten years at the time. Even though his earlier life at the circus and time with Mana had been quite tough at times, in retrospect, it had still been a heaven on earth compared to his current reality, facing a drunken Cross in the doorway.

"Master?" Allen asks hesitantly, wrinkling his nose as he catches the heavy stench of red wine lingering around him.

"The money?" the older man asked, bending over him and staring down at him with a cold look on his face.

He surrendered the money without a fuss, even while knowing it would be spent and forgotten in mere hours at some local pub. Had Cross Marian been spending his own money, then Allen would have had no objections whatsoever to it, but Cross was spending his money – the money that Allen himself had worked so hard to get in order to pay for their food expenses and to pay off some of the debts that his master had already made – the same money which said master grabbed and swiftly disappeared out the door to spend, leaving Allen alone with Timcanpy – his master's golem – flying around a bit before settling onto Allen's snow-white head, as his hair had gradually drained of all colour after Mana had cursed him.

However, the curse entailed more than just white hair and the scar adorning the left side of his face; it also involved his left eye, allowing him to see things he would rather not have seen – such as the writhing souls trapped within akuma, whenever they got close enough – as a constant reminder of his own sin, which was an unforgivable one.

The sights sickened him, yet at the same time, he could not help but feel sorry for them; to pity them for what they were. He wanted to save them; to free them from their state of imprisonment, and in truth, that was just about the only reason as to why Allen still remained with Cross, after all the years that had passed since then. He wanted to atone; he wanted to free them and to put those unfortunate souls out of their misery, even if he himself had to suffer to do so.

Hence, it was not important to him whether he was the one destroying all the akuma and thereby doing all the work, seeing that his master much rather preferred enjoying himself and the good life rather than doing any of his own work. For the most part, Allen was completely fine with it, even though he was well aware of the fact that he was more of a servant or a slave to his master than an actual apprentice, or rather, he would have been fine with it if Cross Marian had not been such a mean drunk.

Mostly, it was limited to numerous insults showering over him at regular intervals, but as the years went by, the verbal abuse gradually turned physical. Allen didn't mind the beatings too much, seeing that they were usually not very serious compared to what he had experienced during his time at the circus, before he met Mana. However, as they went on, occasional beatings became more regular and gradually worsened, up until the point when he came to fear for his own livelihood.

Once, a drunken Cross had flung the door open and entered with a mallet.

Allen's eyes had immediately sought out escape routes all while keeping a keen eye on the man, trying to calculate his every move, even though he had at the same time realised it was futile; running away meant the same as having his punishment doubled once the man finally got hold of him.

The man's shadow had towered over him, and he had lowered his eyes, awaiting the first blow._ This is going to hurt…_

He had survived that event and many similar ones after that. Once Cross finally sobered up, the man didn't seem to remember this particular sort of thing ever having occurred; it was either that or him wilfully ignoring it. Allen on the other hand couldn't forget; he couldn't forget about it even if he wanted to.

Still, during a similar event – the one which would become the last – his body had acted on its own and swatted the dangerous object from his master's hand.

The mallet had not even landed on the floor – and Allen had barely even realised what he had done, drawing in a sharp breath – before his master's rage came crashing down on him with full force.

Fingers had been wrapped around his throat, tightening up until the point when they had cut off his oxygen supply; threatening to crush his windpipe all while Allen had desperately tried to loosen them as black blotches had started clouding his vision.

Knowing that Cross would let go of him eventually, Allen had closed his eyes, ceasing his struggles and allowing his body to fall limp like a ragdoll, following which the grip had loosened, allowing him to fall to the floor in a heap where he kept up his act of feigned death or unconsciousness, even though neither seemed awfully far off at the time.

There had been one last kick directed at his stomach before everything had gone strangely quiet, indicating that the other was watching him, but then it had all stopped and after he had heard the sound of retreating steps and the sound of a door slamming, Allen had slowly opened his eyes, blearily surveying his surroundings.

It was over, he realised as much. It was over, and this time around, he had escaped with mere bruises. He could say that he had been lucky. Still, it had been too close; far too close.

It was pointless to deny it, as it was the wretched thing called reality after all. Allen knew it and part of him did not even believe in luck. In the end, whether he lived or died was completely up to his master's mercy, something Allen doubted the man even possessed. In the end, Allen supposed that he was the same as Maria, the corpse Cross controlled with his magic; always following orders, no matter how much suffering they brought to him.

He wondered what would happen when that time eventually came to pass – sooner or later. What would the man do to him? Would his body – his empty shell – also be used; also be manipulated like Maria?

Then, he realised it wouldn't make a damned bit of a difference and he got up, hissing in pain, wondering whether he had fractured a rib or not. Cross didn't care about him, and if he cared, then he cared for him only as a tool; not as a person. _If I am to atone for my sins by suffering in this Hell on Earth… then when will he atone for his?_

His eyes turned defiant and a spark was lit in them; they were not dull anymore, not dead and devoid of hope._ Why waver between Heaven and Hell when in the end they are the same? Why keep on pleading to a God who has since long stopped listening to the prayers of mere mortals? Praying won't bring Mana back to me. Praying won't save me from my master's rage. Praying is…_

His hands curled into fists and he gritted his teeth. _I hate you._ _I hate you._ _I hate you._ "I hate you," he hoarsely whispered out, even though his throat hurt like Hell simply from speaking. "I hate you."

Even though he knew well that his master did not hear him, as he was at the moment in the middle of sobering up after the drinking of the previous night, and Allen kept repeating the phrase which had seemingly eaten itself into his heart.

Besides the hangover which was likely to be waiting for his master, Allen knew well that he was likely going to be in a really foul mood – even fouler than usual – not that Cross was ever in a good mood unless he had brought about suffering to someone else, namely Allen himself.

He had finally reached a conclusion to the thoughts which had been lingering around in his mind ever since he had accepted the hand his master had offered him; he had found his answer. Cross Marian would never be able to become a new Mana for him and all the man had ever done for him involved some kind of pain. But did he – Allen – have anywhere else to go?

As if guided by some unknown instinct, he wandered carefully across the floor, carefully avoiding trampling upon scattered glass from an earlier scuffle. As he finally reached the door, a great pain tore through him, focusing in the area at his left eye. _Akuma?_

The curse did not activate, but Allen knew that there was an akuma in the making somewhere and that could mean only one thing.

It was a split-second decision, but he had a feeling that if he only met that man – if he only met the Earl – then something would change, even though that man was the enemy – at least according to his master – but in the end, it all came down to one's individual interpretation.

It was a gamble, but it was still far better than spending a lifetime in despair.

As he rounded the corner, he finally caught glimpse of the fat white-clad figure wearing a top hat. He stopped abruptly at the sight.

The figure turned around, as though he had either sensed the boy's presence or perhaps even heard his approach. "Good Evening…"

"Good Evening, Earl," Allen said and gave the Earl a slight bow of respect, earning a wondering look. "My name is Allen Walker."

**- ****o0o -**

He was panting heavily, beads of sweat running down his face, half pale and half flushed at the same time. He got back to his feet and wobbled a bit; dizzy with the effort it took to simply remain standing. But he wouldn't stop; it was not over yet. "Don't stop! I can keep going…"

"As you wish," a male voice resounded from the edge of the barrier. "No holding back."

Instantly the unbearable pressure returned and it felt like his lungs were starting to cramp. Knowing well that he wouldn't be able to breathe in this closed off space, he focused the remnants of his consciousness on retaining the form of his Innocence. _Must… concentrate…_

He could clearly taste blood in his mouth; that last battle must have caused some kind of internal injury. But it didn't matter; he had something else he had to focus on. _More… power… higher… synchronization…_

It felt as though something was cracking, like something within him was being ripped apart. It was painful; it was unbearable, but he couldn't stop. _I must keep moving forward. I can't stop here._

His eyes had been closed as it had made practically no difference whether they were open or closed, as it was completely black in there. His mouth moved quietly, not a word breaching his lips. _Please… Let me invocate stronger… So that I can save the akuma…_

His left arm started to emit a strange glow. He slowly parted his lips, knowing well that he was almost at his limit. If he didn't get out of there soon, he would definitely suffocate to death. If he didn't get out of there then he'd…

"_My right hand is for the humans; my left is for the akuma…"_

He has no idea how he was still able to speak; he should've run out of air long ago. The words he uttered lacked reason and made no sense; he given himself to saving akuma by the means of destroying them, but he held no similar ties to humanity. In truth, he believed himself to have cut the ties he had with it a long time ago.

The glow around his arm spread so that it surrounded his entire body. By instinct, his right hand reached for his left one, grabbing onto it as it started changing shape. "_Critical point broken. Crowned Clown, activate!"_

The light exploded and the barrier separating him from the rest of the world was broken. His feet connected with the floor with a light thud as he had now returned to a place where he was affected by gravity. Greedily filling his lungs with oxygen, he glared up at his opponent, who did not appear to be the least strained. Allen's eyes narrowed and his grip on his Innocence – which had taken on the form of a big sword – tightened. His opponent smirked and activated his own weapon, looking like he was truly enjoying himself. Allen gritted his teeth and prepared to charge at him.

They dashed off at the same moment, their weapons ready as the distance between them grew smaller and smaller at a rapid rate. _Five metres…_ _Two metres… Zero metres…_

"That's enough," a voice called out, immediately causing the two combatants to freeze in their positions.

Allen's sword was resting at the Noah Tyki Mikk's throat while Tyki Mikk was holding his Tease – a weapon made out of a type of golem – above Allen's heart. Neither averted their eyes from the other, as though they were both refusing to admit defeat. Then, after a seeming eternity, Tyki finally broke off and pulled back his Tease with a snicker. "And I who was finally getting all fired up. It isn't everyday that I'm asked to spar with an exorcist under the condition that I may kill him…"

Allen's eyes stared coldly at him. "It isn't every day that I get the chance to kill a Noah either, Tyki Mikk," he snarled back at him.

Tyki just continued to laugh at him and then the man gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "You can call me Brother if you like that one better, Boy."

Allen swatted his hand away with a discontent growl. "You would've lost."

The Earl chuckled, directing Allen's attention towards him. "If Tyki-pet had gone all out from the very start, he would've ripped your heart out. But I must say that I'm impressed… that you have come this far after only two years of training… Fifteen years old and already at the same level as a general, indeed you're a scary existence, Allen Walker."

Allen gave him a wry smile as he deactivated his Innocence, returning it to its regular black shape.

"Good for you that I'm not one of your enemies then." He shrugged mildly. "But I'm really hungry now. May I excuse myself?"

"Go ahead."

Allen gave him a quick bow before leaving the training grounds, as always followed by the golden golem – Timcanpy – who had chosen him over his former master, a fact which Allen felt rather pleased about.

The Earl and Tyki followed Allen with their eyes until he had disappeared out of sight. "He's grown since the last time we fought," Tyki thoughtfully noted. "I'd say we're really lucky that he chose to serve this side instead."

"Indeed, Tyki-pet," the Earl chuckled. "He could grow into a serious threat one day..."

Tyki looked at him with a slightly worried look on his face but he said nothing as the Earl continued. "If I had realised that he would come to harbour this much potential I would've killed him the first time I saw him. But fostering him as one of our own may be the key to our ultimate triumph."

Tyki sighed. "So in short, you want to use his Innocence against the Black Order?"

"He cares very little for humanity." The Earl looks decidedly pleased. "The only thing which is precious to him is the akuma. And now that he has become a Critical, we can finally make some real use of him."

Tyki's amber eyes stared into the distance. "A Critical, huh?"

**- ****o0o -**

Meanwhile, at the Headquarters of the Black Order, Head Officer Komui Lee along with his co-worker Reever Wenham were running in great haste towards the elevator which would take them to the lower levels of the Tower. As they finally made their way to the source of the turmoil, Komui leaned towards the edge. "Hev! What's the problem?"

Hevlaska – the ghostlike mass of glowing material which had the task of guarding shards of Innocence – squirmed violently. "The cube inside me is resonating."

Komui looked as though he had been struck by lightning. "Is it a Critical Point-Breaker?"

A Critical Point-Breaker, or Critical, a person with over 100 percent synchronisation with Innocence…

"Yes," the ghostly mass responded in a fleeting ethereal voice. "I do not know who it is, but he is appearing…"

A Critical, one possessing the power to become a new general…

Komui pressed a hand to his own forehead. A bead of sweat ran down his face; this shouldn't be possible. None of the exorcists in the Order should even have been close to becoming Criticals, and besides the generals no one should even possess that kind of power… unless…

"Chief, what does this mean?" Reever asked in disbelief. "It's impossible. There should be no exorcists…"

"It's not impossible," the Chinese man interrupted, his eyes narrowing. "One of the generals may have taken an apprentice without our knowledge…"

"But why would they?" Reever asked, noticeably confused.

Komui's only reply was a deep frown as he turned his attention back towards a still-glowing Hevlaska. "…_In dark future that Innocence will create a great Destroyer of Time…"_

"A great what?" Komui shouted. "Hev!"

The glow suddenly died down and Komui's face gained a stone-like expression. He raised his hand, drawing Reever's immediate attention to it. "Reever, contact the generals at once. We must inform them of this situation."

Reever gave him a quick nod. "Roger that. But what about General Cross? We haven't been in contact with him for years."

"Irrelevant. Contact the others."

"Roger that."

Komui watched Reever leave in a great hurry. He himself remained at the same position, staring thoughtfully into the distance. "A Destroyer of Time… doesn't that mean…"

_Time…_

_Millennium…_

_A person with the ability and destiny to destroy the Millennium Earl…_

In such case they would have to get to him first, before the Earl decided to eliminate him. But first, they had to find him. And if he wasn't among their ranks, where the Hell could he be?

**- ****o0o -**

Meanwhile Allen sneezed after finishing his third portion of _mitarashi dango_.

"Bless you," Tyki said with a smirk.

"Curse you," Allen said, his eyes narrowed.

Tyki merely laughed. "You're unusually cold today. Did something bad happen to you?"

"Besides the fact you almost ripped my heart out earlier, then no," Allen replied with a voice brimming with sarcasm. "Tyki Mikk."

"Come on, we're practically family," Tyki said. "There's really no need for such politeness."

"Oh, but I was not being polite," Allen responded, wearing a smirk of his own. "I was intending on being rude."

"Well, you're failing miserably at it," Tyki responded. "But I guess we won't have to worry about having my lack of manners rubbing off on you then."

"Shut up."

Tyki gave him an amused glance while reaching for a cigarette and lighting it. "But I must say that I'm glad that you aren't an enemy," he said, giving Allen an affectionate pat on the head. "You would've given me a run for my money."

Allen swatted his hand away, an expression of annoyance plastered all over his face. "Why would I sacrifice so much for a world and humanity which has never given me anything?" he asked. "My parents abandoned me and society shunned me. Mana was different though."

"He did curse you though," Tyki said, exhaling some smoke.

"Only so that I would be able to repent my sins," Allen replied with a slightly bored expression. "I live for the salvation of akuma alone, not to serve some corrupted justice or a God who has turned his back on us a long time ago…"

Tyki snickered. "If those fools in the Order could hear you right now, I wonder what kind of expressions they would make…"

"Not my problem," Allen replied with a shrug.

Tyki laid his hand onto Allen's white hair in an affectionate manner and for once Allen didn't swat it away. The other's amber eyes gained something which could possibly be confused with gentleness, even though he had a general habit of giving the brat a roughing up once in a while. "To them you must be like an angel associating with devils," Tyki said, caressing the teen's soft hair while pulling him a bit closer. "Doesn't that bother you?"

Allen remained seemingly unaffected by this motion, but Tyki watched with well-hidden mirth as he leaned into the partial embrace a bit. Allen himself would never have admitted it, but he did have a certain need of affection and psychical contact every once in a while. Before losing Mana, he had no idea of how much human warmth had meant to him, since Mana had been the first to give him some.

The Noah weren't exactly humans anymore, but they still had an ability to give off similar warmth, like the one he secretly longed for but would never care to admit that he needed. In his life, there should have been no need for kindness or warmth. Instead, he should have encased his heart in ice and focused on what was truly important to him, such as finding a way to save the akuma without neglecting his duties to the Millennium Earl. But, as things appeared, his heart still longed for warmth, no matter how much his brain told it to give it up.

"Not really..." he said, slowly gripping Tyki's hand, the same hand which had almost killed him earlier, and lifted it away from his head while still holding onto it. "After all…"

Tyki looked at him, virtually expressionless for once, his eyes glimmering as Allen looked up at him with his viciously glimmering silver-grey eyes.

"…I fell from grace a long time ago."

**- ****o0o -**


	2. The Shadow

**(Edited 14/12-12)**

**- ****o0o -**

**The Shadow**

**- ****o0o -**

Allen's life with the Millennium Earl and his clan of Noah had not always been easy, not that it was particularly easy now anyway. At first, he had spent most of his time following the Earl around, always watching while keeping out of sight as the Earl fooled people into creating more akuma. It had not been a pleasant experience to see numerous people repeat the same mistake he himself had once made, except none of them ever survived long enough to regret it, not that he had ever had much faith in mankind, but if he ever had it he was rapidly losing it as he realised their foolishness.

He himself had been foolish, before he finally decided to open his eyes. Or maybe it was just as Tyki himself had once said, not that he was particularly known for his wise quotes in Allen's opinion. "_You've got to be evil to have fun."_

That just got to be the wisest thing he had ever said, up until that point, at least.

After a while, Allen had got tired of following the Earl around and continued wandering around by himself in the Ark. At first, the members of the Noah clan had been more than a bit suspicious, and for that he did not fault them in the least; he carried Innocence within him and was therefore a natural enemy, but as time passed they gradually came to accept him, to a certain extent.

Road Camelot – seemingly the youngest but actually the oldest of the Noah family – had immediately taken quite a shine to Allen, mostly because her seemingly preteen mind thought that he looked like he could become a really pretty doll. She had even tried forcing him into a dress once; Allen had made sure it would never happen again. However, in the two years that they had known each other, their relationship – at least from Road's perspective – had begun to change.

Now Road had stopped dreaming about having Allen as her puppet and instead wanted him as her boyfriend, a thought which was equally intimidating from Allen's point of view, seeing that while Road usually had the looks of an innocent little girl, there was a sadistic monster who liked to cause others pain lurking beneath, a quality that she shared with all other Noah. And, since Road was the Noah of Dreams, it wasn't just one time that Allen had been involuntarily dragged into one of her created dimensions, and the things that took place in there were almost always unpleasant. Fortunately for Allen though, he was finally powerful enough to counter it if he wanted to.

Tyki Mikk, on the other hand, had two different personas. His white self looked like a homeless person with a pair of truly… unfashionable and even outright ugly glasses which were just for show along with his dark hair, usually messy and seemingly always dirty. In his white form, he usually hung around a gang of humans and worked in a mine, while in his black form, Tyki Mikk was as sadistic as his white form was rude. Dressing up in a black suit, wearing a top hat and white gloves, he looked like quite the nobleman, but was under normal circumstances anything but noble. One of the first things Allen learnt was that he should truly be wary of the other's ability – mostly of the other's hands – since for Tyki, pulling one's heart out with one's bare hands was more of a question of time and opportunity than a question of possibility.

As the latter was the Noah of Pleasure, Tyki had the leisure of being capable of choosing what he wanted to touch, allowing him to move through other people's bodies, walls and even to walk on air. Innocence was a rare exception to this though, since Innocence and Dark Matter were like complete opposites and capable of destroying each other. They were likely meant for such a task as well, as the war was between the Black Order with their Innocence-wielding exorcist and the Millennium Earl, his Noah Clan and his army of akuma.

Scratch that last part.

The Millennium Earl, his hypocritical Innocence-wielding servant Allen Walker, the Noah clan and his army of akuma.

Anyways, he had strayed from the subject. Yes. Tyki Mikk.

Before Allen had turned Critical, his only way of winning over Tyki Mikk had been in poker. Tyki was excellent at cheating, but Allen was flawless after all that he had experienced during his time as Cross Marian's apprentice. Tyki might have had a better poker face than Allen, but he did not possess the same ability to feign innocence. Usually, Tyki was also quite friendly, but Allen didn't think that he was in any need of friends.

Skin Bolic was the Noah of Rage, obsessed with sweet things. He had seemed a bit scary at first, but as long as one had some candy to bribe him with, there was little to fear. He didn't like exorcists very much, but since Allen was at their side in the war he had been deemed tolerable, but only tolerable.

The twins, Jasdero and Devitto, also together known as Jasdevi were the Noah of Bonds. They were quite difficult to deal with at first, since they much like Road saw him as somewhat of a toy when he first arrived, but in meantime Allen saw himself being upgraded from toy to playmate, which really didn't make much of a difference anyway. But at least they – as well as the rest of the Noah family – knew well that they weren't allowed to do anything too serious to Allen if they didn't wish to face the Earl's potential rage.

Lulubell was the shape-shifting Noah of Lust, and she was extremely loyal to the Earl. Initially, she had been a bit sceptical to Allen's presence and probably wanted to eliminate him at the first given opportunity. However, as she realized that Allen held absolutely no interest in hurting her master she reluctantly accepted Allen as one of their own.

Besides Road, Tyki, Skin, Jasdero, Devitto and Lulubell there were a few other Noah Allen hadn't seen much of. Among them were Sheryl, who according to Tyki was a guy with a serious obsession with Road. Ever since Sheryl learned about Road's recent crush on Allen, he had without compromise decided to hate the boy, but the feeling was pretty mutual since Allen didn't really like the guy either.

So, in short, Allen's life with the Noah hadn't been a dance on roses. However, what had caused him the most headaches so far just had to be that thing.

The shadow.

It had started out as a weird thing which happened whenever he passed by a mirror. In the beginning it was just a flicker in the corner of his eye, but as time went on, the shadow grew larger and more solid until it was steadily hovering over him wherever he went, or at least that's what he assumed since it was always there, accompanying his reflection. At first, the shadow was just hovering over him like it was nothing, but soon it started winking and waving at him whenever he came into sight, as though it was very happy to see him. Those small occurrences were really starting to creep him out. At least it wasn't talking… yet.

Allen had a distinct feeling that it would only be a matter of time before he would start hearing voices. He already had Mana living within his head in his cursed eye, so having another guy living in his head did not sound very tempting. Not that he was likely to have any choice in the matter, as the shadow smirking back at him from beyond the blank surface seemed to be doing pretty much whatever it wanted and wasn't likely to listen to him at all.

Recently, he had also started getting these strange headaches, leading him to avoid the Noah as much as possible, even though it wasn't as though he had particularly been looking for their company much before that either, but this time he was deliberately avoiding them as much as he possibly could. However, this simply left him alone with the shadow, which seemingly took the opportunity to make him pay full attention to it.

It was pointing somewhere.

Allen's eyebrows twitched and he frowned, looking at a blank wall. "There's nothing there."

Eerily glowing orbs looked at him in the dark. It was winking at him again. Allen sighed, annoyed; he hated when the shadow did that. It felt as though it was mocking him somehow.

The shadow shrugged its shoulders as though it was saying "It's not my fault" before it started pointing at the same empty wall again. Allen's eyes wandered from the shadow to the empty wall and back to the shadow again. "I don't get it."

The shadow shook its head and its eyes narrowed. It pointed at the wall again and looked at him, waiting for the correct response. Allen, getting tired of this game, walked up to the seemingly empty wall and reached out towards it, Timcanpy flapping nervously around his head.

An intense headache struck him; it was like a killer migraine that had somehow bored itself into his skull. Blotches started appearing in his vision and a strange buzzing filled his ears, growing stronger by the second. He could almost imagine hearing voices somewhere beyond that, but he wasn't completely sure. Even in this condition, he could tell that his consciousness was fading fast. _I need to grab onto something…_

There was nothing for him to grab onto, he was able to comprehend that much, except maybe the white wall in front of him, but he noticed that he was already falling in the opposite direction. Strong arms caught him though and carefully lowered him to the floor. A hand slid beneath his bangs and onto his forehead. It was cold, or warm; at the time, he couldn't really tell which, but was pleasant though.

The buzzing noise in his ears was slowly but surely fading away, drowning in the sound of someone calling him. He knew this voice, but still couldn't tell who it belonged to, but he was able to tell that whoever was calling him seemed to be concerned about his condition. Concerned? He wanted to laugh at himself for even thinking it; who would ever be concerned about him? Who would even care? He was nothing; he meant nothing to anyone. There was no one concerned about him; there was no one who genuinely cared about his wellbeing or his life. There was no one who'd do anything for him, unless they sought to use him later to further their own goals. His entire existence was merely a curse; he wasn't meant to be cared for, he wasn't meant to be loved. He deserved no affection. He…

Timcanpy was flapping around his master's head, as if desperately wondering what was wrong with him. The one who held onto his master impatiently swatted the golden golem away.

It seemed like this time, the darkness had some mercy on Allen as it embraced him, shielding him from whoever held him in his arms, shielding him from the shadow in the mirror that was watching him with its cold eyes as the scar on his face started bleeding again.

**- ****o0o -**

Blearily opening his eyes to the world, Allen was met with the face of Tyki Mikk. "How are you feeling?" Tyki asked, his breath tickling on Allen's neck.

"Like shit," Allen groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead as he sat himself up from the sofa he had been placed on.

Tyki grabbed his hand and gently pushed him down again before pressing a damp cloth onto his forehead. "Your fever is still high," he said, lifting a few of Allen's bangs back in place while elegantly avoiding a punch the aforementioned had directed at him. "You shouldn't be moving."

"I'm fine," Allen snapped, trying to sit up only to be pushed down again.

"You don't look fine," Tyki dryly commented. "If that was nothing serious, then tell me, what was it?"

Allen remained silent for a few seconds, contemplating his answer. "Just some migraine," he then responded, keeping his voice flat. "It happens."

"Does it happen often?" Tyki asked, eyes narrowing.

"Not really," Allen responded with a sigh. He stopped trying to get up and simply allowed himself fall back against the pillows which had been stacked up behind him. "How long was I out?"

"One, two hours maybe," Tyki answered. "And by the way, if you don't spit out the truth then I'll be reporting this to the Earl."

Allen looked up at him, his eyes narrowing in irritation. "I really do hate it when you're attempting to blackmail me…"

Tyki smirked at him.

Allen sighed. "Where should I start?"

**- ****o0o -**

"So in short, you've got this shadow following you around?"

"Yeah," Allen nodded vaguely, trying to keep his head from swimming. "You don't sound particularly surprised."

"I'm not," Tyki responded with a mild shrug. "I guess I've heard about stranger things in this world and witnessed a few of them firsthand."

Allen glared suspiciously at him, knowing well that information was being withheld from him.

"I'm going to leave you for a bit," Tyki said. "I'll bring you some painkillers when I return."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

**- ****o0o -**

_He opened his eyes, finding himself in the middle of a cemetery._

_Dead trees surrounded it, stretching their branches up towards the crescent in the night sky like greedy hands reaching for it._

_Gravestones were littered around the area, many of them old and covered with moss. A great deal of them had already toppled over, hiding their faded inscriptions from the world._

_Allen bent down, trailing his finger along one of these inscriptions. Then he looked up, looking towards a huge lake that lay ahead. He approached it and looked down into the red-tinted water._

_A black moon was reflected down there, hovering in a red sky under which lay the fragments of a ruined world._

_The shadow was down there too, waiting for him._

_Allen found himself staring down at it._

_The shadow reached out towards him, but he stood his ground._

"_**A-llen…"**_

_The shadow continued reaching out towards him, and Allen found himself half-wondering and half-fearing that it would end up breaking the surface._

"_**Don't…"**_

_He was suddenly falling forward, and before he knew it, he had already plunged into the depts. Visions invaded his head in rapid motion, causing his breath to hitch, filling his lungs with water; it tasted strangely coppery, reminding him an awful lot of blood._

**- ****o0o -**

_A cube fell from the sky…_

_He picked it up and turned around, spotting a large black tower on top of a high mountain._

_The scene changed to a room which he recognized as the heart of the Ark. The Earl was there, alongside another individual who looked oddly familiar. The latter turned around, suddenly holding a young child in his arms. He stepped out of the room, handing the child to a man with a top hat. The man in the hat in return handed the child over to a clown, who then turned into Mana, smiling sadly at the first man's departure._

_Allen found himself back in the graveyard, leaning his back against the trunk of a tree, watching as his younger self did the unforgivable deed and suffered the brunt of it._

_Watching the child slumped against the gravestone – dull-eyed and bleeding – eventually became unbearable. Allen took a step forward, walking up to the child._

_To his surprise, the child looked up as he approached._

"_Who are you?" a shaky voice asked._

_Allen crouched down before him. For a long time, he said nothing at all, but when the child was about to repeat the question, he finally opened his mouth to answer._

"_I am you," he said, holding out his hand towards him. "You are me and I am you."_

_The child looked at the hand, hesitating._

_Allen's facial expression didn't change._

"_Let's walk forward," he said. "Together."_

_Snow started falling upon them._

_The scenery changed again, showing a stark white room with mirrors instead of windows and a white piano standing alongside one of the walls._

_Letting go of the other Allen's hand, Allen strode forth, approaching the instrument. A shadow caught his eye. He looked into the mirror, and saw someone else in his own place._

**- ****o0o -**

He opened his eyes. The shadow was gone. Allen wished he could say the same thing about his headache.

Tyki appeared in his line of vision, helping him sit up before pressing a glass of water to his lips. Allen nearly choked on it. "Just a simple migraine?" Tyki asked.

"Shut up," Allen muttered, grabbing the glass and emptying it in one motion.

"Aren't you supposed to drink the water after you've taken the medicine?" Tyki asked.

Allen gave him a truly unfriendly look and Tyki sighed, saying that he was going to fetch him another glass. "By the way… The Earl wants to see you," Tyki said when he returned.

Allen looked up. "You told him?"

"I told him you had a really bad case of migraine," Tyki said. "Was that bad?"

"No," Allen admitted. "It wasn't."

Tyki got to his feet again, carrying the now empty glass. "See you later," he said before exiting the room.

Allen let himself fall back and lay still, doing nothing for a few minutes. "Come out," he eventually said, staring at the ceiling. "You wanted to talk to me, right?"

"So you did notice me?" The Earl said as he entered the room.

Allen sighed. "So what's the verdict?" he asked, still staring at the ceiling.

The Earl chuckled, but his eyes held no trace of laughter. "Your splitting headaches and the fact that you keep seeing a shadow are two of the early signs that you're turning."

"Into a Noah?" Allen asked, sitting himself up and wincing slightly.

"Indeed," the Earl said. "But such a thing shouldn't be."

"Because Noah and Innocence don't mix well, right?" Allen said. "I get that, but I was referring to what you would do if I turned out to be a Noah and thereby likely even more of a potential threat than I am now."

"Indeed," the Earl said, chuckling slightly. "If you do in fact possess the Memories of Noah, those are no doubt the ones of the late Fourteenth, who was a traitor to his own kin."

Allen could practically feel the temperature dropping drastically in the room.

"If it's true that the memories of the Fourteenth still lives within you, then the most sensible thing to do would be to eliminate you before the Fourteenth reawakens," the Earl said. "However, I'd prefer a different way…"

Allen's eyes narrowed. "To keep me alive and within sight, being able to kill me off at anytime necessary…"

The Earl chuckled and moved forward, placing his hand on top of Allen's head. "You are too important to me for me to simply kill you off if it wasn't absolutely necessary…" he chuckled. "But if you indeed do possess Memories then you are indeed a true member of the Noah clan. However, I must request one thing of you, Allen."

Allen looked up at him, seeming almost confused with the familiarity he thought that he heard in the Earl's voice. The Earl still kept his hand on top of Allen's head as he moved closer, so that their faces were mere inches apart. Allen's eyes widened slightly. "You must not reveal this to any of the other members of the Noah clan; hence I forbid you from using any surfacing Noah abilities until I give my express permission," the Earl said in a dark voice. "Besides…the closer you grow to your inner Noah, the faster will the Fourteenth be able to eat away your mind and replace it with his own…"

"No Noah powers. I get it," Allen slowly responded. "I am already a Critical after all."

The Earl moved back, finally allowing him some space to breathe. "And no needless using of the sword form of your Crowned Clown either," he said. "It increases the draining of your lifespan."

Allen looked confused at first, but then he smiled weakly at him. "Is my life really of that great importance to you?"

The Earl's ever grinning facial expression didn't change. "Not really," the man said before leaving the room, stopping briefly at the threshold. "I'm just very keen on protecting my investment…"

Allen looked at the empty doorway for a moment before sighing and falling back against the pillows as he once again surrendered to unconsciousness. _His investment, huh?_

**- ****o0o -**


	3. The Ghost of Martel

**(Edited 14/12-12)**

**- ****o0o -**

**The Ghost of Martel**

**- ****o0o -**

Allen yawned, his eyes looking out the window as the landscapes of southern Italy flashed past them as the train moved forward, rocking him slightly. He would've fallen asleep a long time ago if the rest of the compartment hadn't been so freaking noisy. Allen took a brief look at it, looking at the worn-down and mostly empty seats and at the group of people who were enjoying themselves playing poker on the floor in the mid aisle before his eyes returned to look at the rather mediocre scenery flashing by. He yawned again; he could've wiped the floor with every single one of them, but somehow he just wasn't in the mood. Maybe he should just beat them all once in a card game in order for them to quiet down a bit so that he would be able to sleep for the rest of the journey?

Eventually however, he decided it was not worth the trouble, sprawling himself across a number of empty seats, closing his eyes while trying to ignore the ruckus the other people in the compartment were making. Apparently, Tyki had won again.

Allen sighed, contemplating his mission. His orders were to head over to the abandoned city of Martel in order to find a piece of Innocence, even though the Earl had previously dispatched a couple of low-level akuma to the area. It was a pointless task, really. If anything, it was the kind of mundane task which could be accomplished by a Level-Two as long as no exorcists came around to interfere. Then again, in such a case then Allen's presence would be a very gratifying one, although only mildly.

If anything, the thing that was truly vexing for him was the fact that Tyki had supposedly been dispatched to accompany him on the way there, ensuring that he would not get lost. Still, although Allen himself was very much aware of the fact that his sense of direction was pretty worthless – if not inexistent altogether – he was still not very happy at the prospect of Tyki telling his stupid human companions that his boss had him babysit some brat. Indeed, Allen thought where he lay staring at the ceiling, indeed he would have to extract some sort of revenge for having suffered this kind of indignity later on.

"You okay back there, Boy?"

"I'm fine," Allen dryly responded, retaining his position. "Thanks for asking."

Allen supposed that the only good thing about the mission was that Tyki was not going to accompany him on it. Had this been the case then Allen would no doubt have jumped off the train to drown himself in the nearest ditch, but not really, but only because his pride would not allow it.

Allen sighed again and then sat himself up before getting to his feet. "I'm going to have a look around," he announced in response to the questioning looks that were sent his way.

"Just try not to get lost anywhere, will you?" Tyki shouted after him as he shut the door behind him.

Finally out of sight and hearing distance, Allen leaned his back against the wall, heaving another heavy sigh. Then, he put his hand inside his long black coat, pulling out a golden object, frowning lightly at the seemingly annoyed flapping of its wings. "Tim, I can't have you flying around. If you get spotted by an exorcist or a finder then I'd get in trouble…"

The golem bit his finger in response. Allen's face showed no trace of pain, but his eyes narrowed slightly. Then, he used his other hand to grab onto its wings and proceeded to shove it right back into his pocket, sealing it. "No biting, or I'll ask the Earl for permission to disassemble you."

The golem's movements in his pocket ceased and Allen could not help but smile in triumph before he went on to have a further look around. Soon, he entered the more luxurious train cars where the rich supposedly travelled. Almost immediately upon entering, he caught sight of a white-clad man sitting on the floor, laying out cards in front of him.

A finder.

Allen took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. _Right… Time to get to know the enemy…_

**- ****o0o -**

Having most recently been dispatched to go on some pretty useless mission in southern Italy to some ghost town to retrieve a piece of Innocence, the exorcist known as Kanda Yu was in a pretty foul mood; not that he was ever particularly known for ever being in a good mood or anything. He and his finder – whose name he had neither reason nor will to remember since finders generally dropped dead pretty soon anyway – were supposed to meet up with the finders already at the site. At the moment however, he was still sitting in a private compartment in the more comfortable part of the train.

He sighed, sneaking another glance at the details he had been given by his supervisor – Komui Lee – the latter whom was a damned moron had an obsession with his little sister and who rarely ever missed an opportunity to slack off from work to work on some of his usually quite worthless inventions. Come to think of it, the only good thing about this mission was that he had been dispatched alone, meaning that he wouldn't be forced to cooperate with any other exorcists and – as always – the finders would have to survive on their own, since Kanda had no intentions whatsoever of coming to their aid if it would jeopardise the success of the mission.

Kanda stroked a stray tress of ebony hair out of his face as his dark eyes once again scanned through the report, frowning a bit. Sure, he had spent the greater part of his life in Europe, but he was originally from Asia, or more specifically Japan, but it was not as if he had any intention of ever going back there, since he did not have anything to return to as far as he was aware.

He had had many close encounters of death before and he had likely not had his last one yet; truth to be told, he should've died a long time ago if it wasn't for the curse. The lotus in the sealed hourglass which was on the table in his room back at Headquarters told him how much was left of it; for each pseudo-death on his part, a petal fell from it, landing at the bottom of the hourglass, joining several others.

He looked up from his papers, only then really starting to pay attention to the fact that his finder out in the corridor was talking to someone. Simply that was nothing out of order; finders were meant to talk to people, but there was something in the other voice that sent an involuntary chill down his spine. He grabbed onto Mugen – his trusted Innocence sword – and approached the door. On the other side, his finder was deeply involved in a conversation with a stranger. Whoever it was, the owner of that voice was dangerous; he could feel it.

He pushed the door open and went out into the corridor with Mugen close at hand, only to be met with a surprised look from the finder, who was once again alone. "Sir Kanda? Is something the matter?"

"Who were you talking to just now?" Kanda growled, eyes searching every nook of the train car in sight.

The finder blinked, seemingly surprised at having received such a question. "Just some passerby who seemed curious about my fortunetelling. I believe we have arrived at our stop."

_Just some passerby… I wouldn't think so._

**- ****o0o -**

Allen got off at the station closest to his real destination and was waved off by Tyki and his human companions. He pulled up the hood to his coat again, hiding his white hair. Almost as soon as he had finished orienting himself at the station, a black-clad man along with that finder guy he had spoken to earlier stepped off the train and started walking in the direction of the abandoned city of Martel, or at least that was what Allen assumed. He looked at the black-clad exorcist, swiftly memorising every detail about his appearance that seemed to be of importance.

The man was Asian, Allen could tell that much, and he carried a sword, likely one of those used by samurai. His hair was long and black and pulled up into a high ponytail, and to Allen's surprise the other's eyes seemed a dark shade of blue and not black as he would have expected. If the young man in question hadn't been wearing such an unpleasant expression on his face then Allen would've mistaken him for a girl; the thought made him want to laugh, but his face remained emotionless, like a mask of indifference as he watched the pair walk farther and farther away from him. Once the pair finally disappeared out of sight, Allen snickered. _So that's an exorcist… That's very interesting…_

**- ****o0o -**

Night had fallen over the supposedly abandoned city of Martel as the finders finally captured two Level-One akuma within barriers. "Were there really only two?" one of them asked.

The finder next to him was about to answer, but before he could do so; he fell to the ground and was soon surrounded by a steadily growing pool of blood. The remaining finder grabbed hold of the talisman and directed its light around, trying to find the thing which had just killed his comrade. The akuma before him started glowing with an ominous purple light. It was evolving.

Screams of agony were cut short as the leader of the other unit, the one inside of the ruins, turned off the communicator to silence them. "The outside unit has been annihilated."

"What are we going to do?" another finder asked, clearly distressed. "If we can somehow get the akuma inside a barrier then…"

"It's no good," the first one said. "We have neither the strength nor the numbers to take on an akuma."

"It's only a matter of time before they find us!" a third finder said.

The two figures shrouded in shadow sitting in a corner of the room curled up more closely to each other. "Guzol…" one of them said.

"Lala… Run," the other urged her.

"No," the seemingly young girl said, shaking her head. "I'll stay with you, Guzol."

"I have an idea," one of the finders said. "In order to protect the Ghost of Martel, we must hold on until the exorcist arrives…"

**- ****o0o -**

They were up on a hill which towered over the deserted city when they both felt a sudden drop in temperature. There were no screams or anything, but it was still easy to tell that the other finders were probably dead already. Kanda knew it, but he made no comment about it. "Let's go."

**- ****o0o -**

It was a very spectacle indeed, Allen thought as he remained where he was, observing it from his elevated position. Seeing to the fact that he had at least a bit of time before his own curtain call, he had let Timcanpy free, and the golem soared above him for a while, seemingly happy to have regained its freedom. His pupils dilated in the darkness as he watched the city, waiting calmly. "The city of Martel…" he said, slowly repeating what he had read in a book in the Earl's library, "…is said to have been a city abandoned by God."

Timcanpy settled in his usual place upon Allen's snow-white hair while the latter fell silent again, looking thoughtfully at the seemingly deserted city, which was much more of a ruin than a city anyway.

An eerie crescent moon hung above them in the night skies, surrounded by scattered dark clouds.

_The people, who were living in despair, created dolls in order to forget their suffering, dolls that could both sing and dance. But as the humans still abandoned the city and the dolls that were left behind still continued to move. After 500 years, only one doll remained…_

Suddenly Allen's cursed eye activated and he got back to his feet, with a determined look on his face. "Come on, Timcanpy."

**- ****o0o -**

Meanwhile, Kanda and his finder had finally succeeded in locating the Ghost of Martel. Now however, they had another problem, namely a Level-Two which was lurking around the place. They had yet to engage in any actual combat, but after seeing the mutilated corpses of several finders even Kanda felt like he was going to be sick to his stomach. As they had retreated deeper inside one of the tunnels in the city, he turned to the Ghost of Martel and its companion since he felt obliged to explain the situation to them. "Akuma are made of a substance called Dark Matter. When they evolve they grow stronger. A Level-Two possesses a consciousness of its own and is able to act on it, as it also gains a new ability, making it far stronger than a Level-One."

The ghost and its companion remained silent, just as they had been when he had asked them for the Innocence. Apparently, he would have to deal with the Level-Two first. He told the ghost to go and hide somewhere deeper within the city while he fought the akuma, a request which both the ghost and its companion seemed more than delighted to comply with as Kanda and the finder headed off to search of the akuma. Needless to say, they were soon to be ambushed. They got separated and he only stumbled upon the finder a few minutes later, covered in injuries. He had a quick look at him, determining the severity of his injuries while making a decision. "If you don't get up now, I'll leave you behind," he said, turning his back to him as he started walking down the street.

He vaguely heard the rustle as the finder got to his feet. Then a chill came on to him and he immediately stopped, his senses scanning the surroundings. There was definitely something wrong here, something out of place; he only realised what it was as cold fingers crept around his throat and the moment later, the back of his head was slammed into a wall. Mugen fell to the ground with a clank, out of his reach.

"I have the ability to copy those I touch and to take on their appearance… Just like this!" the Level-Two said as it shed the disguise it had previously worn. "My little trick had you completely fooled, isn't that right, exorcist?"

The akuma – with its mutated clown like exterior – leant closer, seeing its chance to mock him, all while it applied a great deal of pressure to his windpipe, strangling him. "And now you're dead!"

A deep slash, running from shoulder to stomach, nearly sent him into oblivion then and there. It was only an act of willpower which kept him standing all while his thoughts reeled. He couldn't die; not before he found that person…

A decisive blow was heading his way, as the last one had apparently not been enough to finish him off. He gritted his teeth, bracing himself for another onslaught of pain, honestly surprised when none came. He looked up, catching sight of some sort of glowing white treads as they were wrapped around the Level-Two's arm, hindering the attack. "I said stop," a low voice said, and its owner stepped out of the darkest shadows. A white cloak and a gleaming domino mask met his visage, and he almost frowned in confusion. What the Hell…?

"And who do you think you are?" the akuma asked, pulling at the restraining threads. "The exorcist is my prey… So, scram unless you want to die next."

The cloaked figure looked up, tilted his head to the side, smiled, and then dashed forward, piercing the akuma with razor-like claws. "Don't screw with me," he said, just as the akuma scattered to pieces. "To this pitiful akuma, I grant salvation," he then murmured, barely audible before rounding it all off with a louder "I'm such a hypocrite" at the end.

He sighed and lowered his claw, approaching the exorcist who lay sprawled on the ground. He crouched down, putting his fingers onto the other's neck. He blinked with surprise as he felt throbbing against his fingers. _No way… this guy's still alive…_

**- ****o0o -**

Guzol and Lala were cowering over in a corner of the underground room they had confined themselves in, watching the white-cloaked masked figure as it lay down the unmoving exorcist down onto the stone floor before straightening up again, directing its attention towards them. Lala's grip onto Guzol tightened as she stared at the figure. Its eyes scared her. Her hands flew up to her chest area, desperately wishing to protect the heart that she knew would soon be stolen from her. Whether it was an exorcist or not who took it didn't matter, what mattered to her was the thought of being with Guzol until he finally broke, until that very last moment. She would fight for it if she needed to. She would…

The cloaked figure remained silent, watching them both from afar. It didn't move or give any sort of indication that it was going to attack them but it didn't approach them either. The silence in the chamber was tense – almost suffocating – until the masked figure finally spoke. "To stay with him until the end of his life…" it said, pulling the mask aside for a moment, revealing a scarred youthful face, half-hidden by messy bangs of snow-white hair, his eyes glimmering with something which could not be conveyed into words as his face was graced with a smile which almost seemed kind. "That was your promise, right?"

Lala remained silent, her eyes lingering at the figure's clawed left hand which had shown itself capable of ripping a Level-Two apart like it had been nothing. The figure appeared to notice this, laughed and put his mask back in place before sitting down upon a broken pillar lying on the floor. "I'm not in a hurry," he said, having that same strange smile on his face. "I can wait."

Lala – knowing better than to trust him but still feeling relieved that he did not attack them – turned her attention back towards Guzol. His heartbeat was rapidly slowing, and knowing that the end was near she parted her lips and sang.

**- ****o0o -**

Allen stole a glance at her before directing his own attention towards the exorcist on the stone floor, with his Innocence weapon by his side and his head lying on his folded coat. He had merely taken a piece of fabric from one of the dead finders and wrapped it around the wound in order to stop the worst of the bleeding. Allen frowned. He didn't know why the exorcist was still alive, and he was even more mystified by the fact that he had interfered. His silver-grey eyes looked thoughtfully at the ebony-haired man, who was probably a few years older than himself. _He's an exorcist; he's my enemy. We're likely to meet later on the battlefield, so I should really kill him off now that I have the chance…_

As though on its own accord, his hand started moving, as if it was longing to enclose around the exorcist's throat; to wrap around it and squeeze it. But Allen withdrew it, cradling it to his chest as though he had burned himself. _I didn't come here to kill exorcists; my mission is to collect the Innocence so that the Earl can destroy it…_

But why had he hesitated? Why was he fooling around? Why didn't he just take the Innocence now when there was no competition? Why hadn't he just let the exorcist join the finders in the afterlife?

Allen noticed a small shiny object on the floor and picked it up. It was a button. Silver. He turned it over in his hand and saw that something was written on the back of it. "Yu Kanda," he read out loud, though none of the ones present heard it.

He looked once again at the fallen exorcist. _Yu Kanda… Kanda Yu… I guess that's this guy's name…_

Allen caught himself in the act and mentally slapped himself. _I know his name. So what? He's an enemy and he's likely to die from blood loss anyway. I have a mission to concentrate on; I shouldn't be dallying around like this…_

His eyes narrowed behind the mask. _I have no need for this kind of sentimentality. My sole existence is for the akuma and to serve the Earl until I've brought them salvation. I live for akuma and akuma alone. I have no right to even be called a human anymore…_

Allen noticed some movements in the corner of his eye and noticed a black golem flapping its wings right above the still form of the exorcist. His eyes instantly grew cold; the akuma had smashed that thing before, but apparently it was still alive and well, a fact which did not please Allen very much, mostly since the golem was likely to have recorded him. Allen couldn't have the Black Order learn of his existence just yet; it was still way too early in the game and would almost definitely disrupt the Earl's plan. Allen simply wouldn't let this happen. He had to do it swiftly, before the golem realized his intentions…

Allen threw his hand out. "Clown Belt!"

Capturing the black golem had been easier than expected with the help of his Innocence, and using his newly acquired programming skills, Allen swiftly erased all footage with himself. Looking through the rest proved to be quite interesting though, since Allen didn't have much else to do while he awaited Guzol's death. The black golem showed him various glimpses of the exorcist's earlier missions, as well as some of the time in-between; it showed the other's pretty much constant showing of contempt towards the finders, some of the other's training sessions, the other eating soba in a big cafeteria, the other sitting curled up all alone in his room watching a withering lotus in an hourglass. _Whatever that lotus it was it had to hold some great importance to him…_

However, his musings were interrupted as the exorcist – Kanda Yu – stirred, fingers twitching. He realised that it would only be a question of time before the exorcist would be coming to, and he realised he would greatly prefer it if he was long gone by then, preferably with the Innocence. He looked at the doll which had stopped singing and he realised it was over. Allen sighed with what might've been relief before once again smashing the black golem and making his way towards the doll. He reached out his hand to the doll with the intention of retrieving the Innocence, but once again a noise stole away all his attention.

Kanda Yu had opened his eyes. Instantly Allen's breath hitched and he swiftly pulled out the Innocence, drew Crowned Clown closer to himself and took off running in the opposite direction. He wasn't fleeing even though it might've looked that way; he had got what he came for as well as some information which might prove at least a bit useful later on and now he was simply retreating to the shadows in order not to mess up the Earl's plans by being seen before he reached the gate which would be waiting for him.

**- ****o0o -**

"Mission Complete."

**- ****o0o -**

"Good job," the Earl chuckled as he received the Innocence and shattered it. "Did you run into any trouble?"

"Nothing much…" Allen shrugged mildly. "But I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"

The Earl gave him an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "Anything you want… however…" the Earl leant closer to him. "…I'll have you submit your official report later."

Allen's eyebrow twitched; he positively abhorred paperwork. "Anyways, Earl… Why didn't we use the Ark both ways on this mission?"

The Earl chuckled, seemingly amused with the question, even though Allen himself still hadn't figured out what was so amusing about it. "I simply wanted you to get a bit of view of the real world once in a while…"

Allen still didn't look amused with that explanation. "If my existence became known, it would no doubt jeopardize your plan. Would it really be worth it?"

The Earl continued chuckling. "If it happens, it happens. It will be amusing to me either way."

Allen sighed again as the Earl waddled off, silver-gray eyes following the fat man's every move until he was out of sight. _Is all this just a game to you, Earl?_

**- ****o0o -**

"_Blue skies, the emerald green sea…"_

"So what?" Kanda Yu hissed at the voice on the other end of the line, peeling a band aid from his face.

"_I'm jealous, dammit!"_ the voice on the other end – namely Komui – shouted. _"It's been three days! Three days! What have you been doing? And how did you lose the Innocence? They've been using me as a slave over here!"_

"Shut up," Kanda said while he carelessly ripped a syringe from his arm.

The finder, who had been found with only minor injuries, sighed deeply. Then, a doctor came rushing into the room. "Wait, wait! What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving," Kanda responded as the finder presented the doctor with a business card to the Order. "Send the bill to them."

"No, no, no!" the doctor kept saying, gesturing for him to lie down again. "You're in a critical condition. It'll take at least five months to recover…"

"I'm healed," Kanda said as he pulled off the bandages and shoved them onto the doctor while still holding the receiver against his ear as he pulled on a shirt. "Thanks for everything. I'm leaving."

They left the hospital and Kanda continued talking to Komui through the telephone which the finder was carrying on his back. "_But it took some time for you to heal this time…"_ Komui said. _"You must make sure not to miscalculate what's left of your life…"_

Kanda sighed, his fingers lingering at his chest for one moment, hovering over the tattoo which had once again become visible. His eyes narrowed. "What did you want anyway?" he asked. "If this is a prank call then I'm hanging up."

"_Kanda, wait a minute! Hey!"_

"What?" he hissed.

"_Since the details of what went wrong with the mission are something you claimed cannot be conveyed over the phone, then I must request your presence at Headquarters before I give you your next mission…"_

"Roger that. I'll take the next train north."

"_And lastly… Kanda…"_

"What?"

"_Don't forget to buy souvenirs for me."_

Kanda instantly broke the connection as he slammed the phone back in place.

"Sir…" the finder asked after a tense silence. "What really happened back in Martel?"

"How the Hell am I supposed to know?" Kanda shot back, his mood getting fouler by the second.

**- ****o0o -**

Boredom was written all over his face as he watched Skin Bolic munch on an egg, silently observing as the other's expression visibly darkened. He knew what would come next, having witnessed the same spectacle numerous times already. "This isn't sweet…"

Allen sighed as the Noah of Wrath went into a fit of rage and attacked the akuma maid, showering her with hits. "I told you to make it sweet!"

Allen scratched his head as he watched the troublesome scene unfold from his place by the round table. "Hey," he finally said, earning a few more or less amused glances from the other Noah. "We're eating."

Skin Bolic stopped beating the crap out of the akuma and gave Allen a truly unfriendly glare. Tyki on the other hand snickered a bit. Allen could practically hear what he was thinking. _You stole my line, Boy…_

Skin Bolic got back to his feet, wiping the remnants of the egg from his mouth. "I'm leaving," he muttered. "We have different tastes."

"Just eat the egg for freaking sake…" Tyki looked positively bored. "You damn sweet tooth."

Road leant forward. "This is a family dinner. Isn't that right, Duke?"

The Earl just chuckled. Road finally abandoned her neat school girl act and gained quite a sadistic expression. "Why won't you just tell us the reason of this mission?"

The Earl still didn't respond with anything more than a chuckle.

_Don't you ever take anything seriously…Earl? _Allen sighed and closed his eyes. Then, he opened them again, wearing a determined expression. "I'm guessing that it's time for us to make a move then?"

Chuckling, the Earl asked which one of his apostles would be the first to greet the exorcist.

Road waved enthusiastically. "Let me, let me!"

All other Noah including Allen looked at her with some level of amusement, waiting for the Earl's answer, all while the man just chuckled. "Would anyone else like to test their abilities against the exorcists?"

The remaining Noah exchanged glances with each other but none of them showed any interest in this new mission. Especially Allen, who tilted his head to the side in his desperate attempt to avoid Road's half-pleading and half-threatening glare, as he really didn't feel up to running into exorcists again, not since his almost-screw-up last time.

The Earl looked at him, wearing the selfsame grin he normally had on his face when he was up to no good. Allen's instincts were yelling at him to quickly make up some kind of excuse, to call in sick, something! He really didn't want to be paired up with Road, not with the utterly sadistic little girl who was already worryingly infatuated with him… No freaking way…

"Allen Walker," the Earl purred.

Allen swallowed soundly and looked up at the Earl, knowing well what this entailed. Allen closed his eyes, sighed and got to his feet. _Damn it._

**- ****o0o -**


	4. The Rewinding Town

**(Edited 15/12-12)**

**- ****o0o -**

**The Rewinding Town**

**- ****o0o -**

A woman with dark hair tied in a knot on her head and dark circles surrounding her eyes got up from her bed in her small apartment, passed by a grandfather clock and went to fetch today's newspaper. She gripped it tightly, her knuckles whitening as she started shaking. _The newspaper of October the 28th… again. The same articles… The same horoscopes…_

The grandfather clock kept ticking and she looked up at it, counting the seconds, waiting for the people next-door to start their fighting. "You were out with that whore again, weren't you?" the neighbouring wife screamed while supposedly trying to strangle her wedded husband.

The woman in black with pale complexion and dark circles around her eyes sighed, turning her head to look at the clock, watching the hands move, relentlessly. _It's the same October the 28th again…for the thirtieth time in a row…_

Having yet another nervous breakdown, she fell to her knees on the floor, crying. Then, she wiped her tears, looking up with an almost determined expression on her face. She got to her feet, draped a scarf around her shoulders and headed for the door. She came out onto the street, only to be greeted by a group of four children, just like all other today's so far. She turned her head away and walked by them, experiencing a great deal of frustration when they started following her. _"__Miranda, Miranda, poor, poor Miranda,__ u__gly, unlucky and plain useless,__ o__ut looking for a job again,__ y__ou'll get fired soon anyway…"_

_Always, always the same song… Always, always the same thing…_

She bit her lip as she continued walking, quickening her pace. _It's still October the 28th… Nothing's changed, not a thing…_

_- _o0o -

The train compartment was quiet, filled with tension and a great irritation radiating from a certain raven-haired samurai as he was sitting at the opposite of a Chinese girl with pigtails who had a seemingly nervous smile playing on her lips. "Um, Kanda?" she asked, her voice breaking the tense silence. "Is something the matter?"

Kanda ignored her, looking out of the window of their private compartment as the landscapes of Germany passed by at a steady pace; Kanda wasn't the type to gaze at the scenery, but it proved effective when he didn't feel like answering questions.

Of course he wasn't alright; he had failed on his last mission only to be sent on another, where it wasn't even certain there was any Innocence to be found. Of course he was annoyed and a bit frustrated, mostly with himself. It was at times like this that Kanda's official "complete the mission or die"-policy became a great disadvantage. He couldn't afford anymore failures.

Nevertheless, being paired up with Lenalee was – in a way – the worst penalty for his actions. After all, being forced to listen to her talk about comrades and protecting everyone and all that stuff that he didn't really pay much attention to was like torture to him. Apparently, Lenalee saw him as her friend. Kanda on the other hand saw her as a mild nuisance; after all, she was a lot less irritating than certain other individuals who considered him a friend. They had known each other since childhood, both of them having been in the Order for what seemed like a long time since neither recalled much of what was before that, or at least that was what Lenalee sought to believe, since Kanda never spoke of his own past. And, while still on the subject of a traumatic childhood, Kanda wondered which Lenalee he preferred being with; the emotionally scarred and terrified Lenalee or the overly cheerful and positive one? Regardless of which one he actually preferred spending time with, he had strayed very far away from the actual point of all this, which was that the mission in question sucked big time.

Kanda sighed deeply, and then he had to use all his self-control not to flinch and to keep his gaze bored and cold as he suddenly came face to face with Lenalee at a close range. "Kanda, answer me when I'm talking to you," she said, pouting slightly. "Is something the matter?"

Kanda stared at her. "Not really," he snorted before returning to staring at the landscape flashing by the window.

Lenalee returned to her seat, still wearing a slightly displeased facial expression. "I can tell that you're annoyed with something."

Kanda let out an annoyed sigh before turning his head to face her; one thing he knew well about Lenalee was that she was stubborn as Hell, even more stubborn than he was. "So there is _possibly_ an Innocence in a town in Germany, but in the end that is just a _possibility_," he said, clearly irritated. "It seems like this town is rewinding, _probably_. This means that this mission is about retrieving an Innocence that _maybe_ exists."

"Kanda, I think I got the _maybe_-part of this…"

"And that worthless nonworking supervisor had two more theories…" Kanda continued, ignoring her. He held up one finger. "One; if this is the work of Innocence there's likely someone compatible with it as well." He held up two fingers. "Two; if we actually do get into this godforsaken town or whatever, it is very _possible_ that we won't be able to get out."

Lenalee tilted her head to the side, smiling. "I'm sure it'll work out somehow."

Kanda gave her a look before staring blankly at the window again. That positive attitude, oh how he hated it…

**- ****o0o -**

A few minutes after the two exorcists had reached the town and entered it through a barrier one of the gates to the Ark temporarily opened, letting two figures out before closing and disappearing, leaving them out in the heavy rain.

One of the figures wore a dark coat with a hood, not entirely unlike one of the Black Order's, only without any marks of his allegiance. His face was hidden, but his silver-grey eyes were watching the town with an indifferent expression.

The other was a seemingly young girl with spiky hair who wore a frilly top and a dark skirt along with a pair of striped tights. She was standing under an umbrella, looking at the town with her amber eyes. "So this is the so called Rewinding Town?"

"Fascinating," the hooded figure interrupted in a bored voice. "Let's just get inside…"

The girl smiled and reached out her hand to touch the barrier, withdrawing it almost instantly. "It repels me," she said, looking at her slightly burnt fingertips. "I guess I'll have to use that."

She gave the hooded figure a meaningful look. "What?" the other asked with a hint of irritation in his voice.

The girl said nothing but continued staring at him until he finally yielded. "Fine…" he said, pulling the hood further down. He took a step forward in direction of the barrier. "I'll go ahead and have a look around."

The girl waved at him. "See you later then," she said cheerily before adding "And don't get lost."

The hooded figure stepped through the barrier surrounding the town with ease. As he had entered the town, he noticed that it had stopped raining. He pushed back his hood, revealing a messy white hair and a crimson scar on his pale face. "Allen Walker has arrived."

**- ****o0o -**

Miranda Lotto stopped walking for a moment, looking up at the sky. _The sun is really bright today…_

She sighed heavily and looked at the other people on the fairly crowded street as they were walking, heading in the same direction as about thirty times before, walking by the same people as about thirty times before… _Why won't anyone notice this?_

Miranda sighed and walked into a back alley; she didn't want to bother with all the people anymore, she already knew how this day was going to end anyway. _After this I'll be splashed with muddy water when a carriage drives by, then I'll go home…_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was faced with some kind of monster. Her back collided with the wall behind her as she stared up at it, terrified. Her eyes widened but she still couldn't bring herself to scream. Her heartbeat swiftly accelerated. Her lips were trembling. _Am I going to get killed? Wasn't today the same as always?_

The monster nailed her against the wall, leaning forward as if it wanted to eat her or speak to her, or both. "Where's the Innocence?"

Her eyes widened.

"Let that woman go," a voice growled. _Another different thing happened…_

The monster let her go to engage in battle with the swordsman. Miranda felt happier than she had in ages. _I finally got out…_

She clenched her hands to fists. _I finally escaped today…_

She ran off from the scene with a maniacal laughter just as the swordsman ultimately destroyed the monster, no, _akuma_. "Hey, wait up!" the swordsman shouted after her, but she was already out of sight. "Tch."

He wiped his blade and sheathed it. "Damn it."

**- ****o0o -**

The girl with the umbrella was still standing outside of the city walls in the heavy rain. After a few minutes, she heaved a sigh of boredom and gave the umbrella a twirl before approaching the barrier. She folded the umbrella and stuck a hand through the barrier, feeling how it burned. Pain had never bothered her much anyway and she took a step forward, forcefully breaching the barrier as an almost enjoyable sensation swept through her as clothes, skin and tissue were burned off. But it lasted only a moment before she had passed though and entered the so called Rewinding Town and her body as well as her outward appearance were automatically repairing themselves; she wasn't the first one among the Noah for nothing after all, but she somehow didn't wish to show herself in such a state in front of Allen.

_Allen._ That was the name of a person she had grown fond of, a name which she liked to say over and over again just to hear a sneering question asking what the Hell she wanted.

_Allen Walker._ It was the name of a person who was as pretty as a doll. Call it infatuation or just plain obsession, but whether one liked it or not, to her Allen was and would always be special.

She sighed heavily once again, returning from her lazy daydreaming to the reality and boredom of the Rewinding Town as she was standing in daylight, her amber eyes watching the crowded main street. "Road Camelot has arrived," she announced, taking a skip onto the pavement.

"You're late," a voice said.

Road's eyes flashed as she laid eyes on the cloaked figure leaning against the wall. "You were watching," she accused.

The cloaked figure merely shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't."

Road pouted lightly. "You were. I just know it."

The shadow sighed and very likely rolled his eyes over his statement, but it remained unseen as his face was hidden in shadow. "In exactly what way is this conversation in any way relevant to our mission?"

Road skipped towards him. "Allen… You know I don't like being spied on you fake-hearted gentleman."

Allen remained unimpressed and preferred ignoring her words. Road's eyes narrowed and she dropped her cute façade for her mischievous one as she gazed at the town seemingly looking for something. "So, where's the akuma I sent here in advance?" she asked no one in particular.

"Well…" Allen said after a while. "One is gone for sure."

Road turned to look at him with a curious look on her face. "Exorcists or did you get bored while waiting?"

"Exorcist," Allen replied. "Kanda Yu."

Road blinked. "You seem to know a lot," she said, sounding a bit suspicious. "Have you run into him before?"

"More or less," Allen said, shrugging lightly, making no further attempts on explaining exactly how he had run into the previously mentioned samurai.

"Huh…" Road said, a light frown appearing on her face as she apparently found Allen's withholding of perhaps vital information a truly suspicious thing. "So, have there been any signs of the Innocence?"

Allen – feeling a bit relieved as they had left the possibly dangerous topic – yawned. "I think this miserably-looking gloomy woman might have something to do with this phenomenon…"

Road watched him with an impatient look on her face. "Any proof?"

Allen gave her a bleak smile. "Just a feeling…" he said as his smile widened to a grin. "…And the fact that the exorcists are running around completely frantically and looking for her…"

Road's eyes glimmered. "So we've likely found the source… But it's no fun when the game ends too early…"

Allen's silver-grey eyes rested on her for a moment before darting off into the distance again. "So you want to make things more interesting?" he asked, his question sounding more like a statement than an actual question.

Road smiled sweetly at him, putting up her cute schoolgirl act. "What are your conditions?" she asked with a certain hidden excitement hidden in her voice as she soon might be given an opportunity to mess around with people's lives for the sake of her own personal amusement within the immediate future.

Allen looked down at her. He appeared to be thinking deeply for a few moments, likely trying to figure out in exactly what way this situation could be used to benefit him the most. After all, it wasn't everyday Road asked him to state his conditions when it came to playing games, since it was usually the other way around. "How about this?" Allen said after a while, raising his index finger. "One: Do not screw up the Earl's plan more than necessary." He raised another finger. "Two: Do not force me to do your homework."

Road looked fairly disappointed after hearing Allen's conditions but she accepted them anyway. But deep inside her mind she still kept on wondering how the Hell Allen had known that she had intended to force him to do her homework as soon as they returned from this mission. Sometimes even she found herself wondering whether Allen was psychic or something, since Allen had this peculiar ability to evade every trap that Jasdero and Devitto set for him as well, as he was usually quite skilled at avoiding getting trapped inside her dreams. She smirked. _Well, it takes one to know one. Allen is part Noah as well after all._

**- ****o0o -**

Meanwhile, Kanda had made his way to the restaurant that was the designated meeting place. As he opened the door, he spotted Lenalee sitting at a table by a window, looking at him. "You're late," she said, stating a fact without any hint of accusation in her voice.

Kanda grunted in response as he sat down at the opposite of her.

"Did you find anything?" she asked.

"An akuma and a suspicious person," Kanda hissed, refraining from mentioning the fact that this suspicious person – this miserably-looking gloomy woman – was the sole reason as to why he had been late in the first place.

Lenalee frowned. "In what way suspicious?"

Kanda glared at her, obviously in a foul mood for not having been able to catch up to that weak-looking woman from before. "The akuma asked her about Innocence."

"What?" Lenalee half-shouted before looking around, looking mildly embarrassed. Then she leant closer, lowering her voice. "Then she might be the accommodator… What did she look like?"

"Dark, gloomy and miserably weak," Kanda responded.

"I don't understand what you mean," she said. "Can you draw me a picture?"

"No."

He snorted. Then, he looked up, just as the miserable-looking gloomy woman and the cause of his own misery appeared in the doorway to the restaurant. Instinctively, he stood up, finding that the most sensible thing for him to do would be to eliminate said piece of human garbage as soon as humanly possible, but, seeing that Lenalee shot him a look as if she had known what was going on inside of his head, he restrained his first impulse.

The miserable-looking woman though stood frozen at the threshold as she spotted him and he could practically see the thinking process of the woman as she came to the realisation about the situation at hand before abruptly turning around, exiting the door and dashing off.

Lenalee still looked slightly confused as Kanda gave chase. "That's her!" he shouted before exiting the door and disappearing down the street.

Lenalee got to her feet, activating her Dark Boots. But then a chill ran down her spine as three other people sitting by the counter also rose to their feet. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw how these three individuals started transforming. _Akuma._

An endlessly painful sensation pierced through her brain and it felt like her head was going to split in two. Then, everything went black.

_- _o0o -

As Kanda turned the corner he found that his prey was lying motionless on the pavement at the feet of a masked figure dressed in a white cloak. Kanda reached for Mugen, identifying the figure as an enemy. It was unnervingly familiar to the white blur that he had a vague recollection of previously having encountered in the city of Martel.

Before he was even able to dash off and attack it, he was nailed to the wall by a sticky web-like substance attached to the cloaked figure's wrist. "Damn you…" Kanda hissed as the pressure on his ribcage grew.

The masked figure kept watching him with the same indifferent expression in his eyes and his lips were drawn into a thin line as the samurai made futile attempts to cut the threads with his sword before finally going limp.

_- _o0o -

Once he finally drifted towards wakefulness, the first thing he registered was great pain in his hands. As the blurry world gradually started clearing up, he said the first thing which came to mind. "Shit…"

And shit was truly the least he could say about the situation, seeing that his arms were pinned above his head with his palms pierced with what seemed to be a pointed candle. With a bit of further observation of his surroundings, he spotted Lenalee sitting in a chair a bit farther away – all dressed up in a black gown – her hair all curly and her face carrying a blank expression with half-lidded dull eyes. A whimper brought his attention a bit farther away and he spotted the miserable-looking woman from before, her hands nailed to what appeared to be a grandfather clock.

A giggle brought his attention back as his eyes came to rest on Mugen which lay on the floor of the room they were all confined in, a room filled with toys, dolls and candles lighting up the darkness. A bit further away at his opposite was another chair where a stranger seated – a stranger with a messy white hair – a stranger who looked strangely familiar. Beside the chair stood a girl with spiky black hair, surrounded by three Level-Two akuma. "Oh, so you two are awake?" the girl asked, turning around to face them. "I was getting a bit bored."

"Who the Hell are you?" Kanda hissed.

She giggled as her skin turned ashen and a line of crosses appeared on her forehead. "I am Road Camelot," she said. "I am one of the Noah clan, one of the true apostles of God."

"What did you do to Lenalee?" he growled at her, this Road Camelot or whatever her name was.

Road smirked at him before skipping from her place by one chair to the one in which the motionless Lenalee was sitting. Twirling an ebony lock of Lenalee's curly hair, Road smirked as Kanda's facial expression darkened. "Her? Nothing much, just some nerve damage…" Road said, leaning closer to the female exorcist. "Lenalee, huh? She's really pretty…"

To this statement, Kanda hissed while Road laughed, accompanied in her laughter by the three akuma by her side. "And exorcist dolls are rare…" she continued in a moment of thoughtfulness before her face was lit up by a sweet but certainly not innocent smile. "Getting my hands on two of them would be awesome…"

Kanda immediately raised his head, staring into the amber eyes of the enemy with a great deal of disbelief in his eyes. His mouth spoke the question before his brain was able to stop it. "Two of them?"

Kanda could hear that his voice was shaking slightly and he hated it; showing weakness in front of an enemy should not be allowed, not under any circumstances, while Road merely giggled at him, like he had said some kind of joke. Still smiling, she skipped back to the other chair, to the white-haired figure sitting in it. "This guy," Road said, her voice gaining certain tenderness as she stroked a few stray hairs from the boy's face. "He was far harder to catch than the three of you. Honestly…" her eyes got an almost loving expression, "It was not easy…"

"He's an exorcist?" Kanda yelled, trying to pull his hands free, his frustration with his own helplessness growing with every passing second.

Road turned around, facing him, and her eyes were immediately filled with malice as she looked in his direction. "I have no obligation to answer…" she said. "Especially not a person who's about to die…" she made a gesture towards the raven-haired exorcist, "Allen!"

The previously still white-haired boy stirred slightly as his previously closed eyelids fluttered, revealing a pair of glazed silver-grey orbs. The snow-white head tilted to the side for a moment before the figure raised himself from the chair, taking a staggering step before straightening up and gaining balance as a white cloak materialised around him, hiding the upper part of his face behind a mask in black and silver. The cloak itself was billowing, briefly uncovering a blackened hand with nails that ended in long razor-sharp iron claws. "Allen!" Road commanded. "Kill him!"

The white-haired teen instantly obeyed, charging at Kanda who had taken his one chance, ripping his hands, yanking them down, shredding them with a hiss of pain through gritted teeth. He threw himself after Mugen, grabbing it just in time to parry a blow at his vitals, narrowly evading getting sliced up by the other's claws. Kanda's hands hurt really badly and they bled a lot but that didn't matter; as long as he managed to stay alive, his curse would heal them soon enough. Now all he could do was to fight and to suppress the pain in order to concentrate on the opponent in front of him. Kanda activated Mugen just before the same white web-like threads as before attached themselves to his wrist, restricting his movements.

There was something seriously wrong with this whole scenario. Kanda glared at the masked individual, trying to anticipate his next move, trying to hide his astonishment that the other had stopped moving. A bead of sweat ran down his face. _If this guy is an exorcist like that Noah said… then where did he come from? Why didn't we know about this guy? Why is he with the Noah? An exorcist doll? So he's under some kind of control? But something is still off… If he's being controlled, then why didn't he kill me earlier on when he had the chance to?_

The next moment he was slammed into a wall and dust enveloped the area. Both combatants were swept into a cloud of it and were cut off from view. Road ordered her akuma to be on standby before she turned her head in direction of the sobbing Miranda. Road smiled at her, carrying what seemed to be a look of pity in her eyes as she raised her hand. "I'll set you free soon…"

**- ****o0o -**

Meanwhile, Miranda was nearing the point of absolute despair. _I don't want to die… I don't want to die… I don't want to die… I don't…_

The mighty chime of the grandfather clock interrupted her thoughts as a sudden force resonated inside her. Her hair got loose from the knot on her head, flapping freely around her as light erupted and the chimes continued resonating within her heart. Before she knew it, her hands were free again and they didn't hurt anymore, so she opened her eyes not knowing when she had closed them and stared with amazement at the scene before her.

**- ****o0o -**

Meanwhile, as Kanda was fighting the cloaked figure, the latter suddenly came to a stop, placing a hand over his mouth as violent coughs started rocking his body. As blood spilled from beneath that hand, Kanda realised that this was likely his best opportunity to attack, but instead he found that he could merely watch. If this guy was a parasite type then a rebound of this sort was likely possible, no, it would be inevitable.

The cloaked figure – no, the boy by the looks of it – continued coughing up blood for a few moments before abruptly stopping again, wiping the blood from his mouth and straightening up.

Then, suddenly, some kind of shockwave hit them and the next moment they were both enclosed within yet another space, like a sphere with numerous clocks around them with clock hands rewinding themselves. "What the Hell is this?" Kanda asked, obviously asking what the others were thinking.

The masked individual he was fighting didn't answer, seeing that he merely wobbled and started to fall, like a doll whose strings had been cut. Nonetheless, what surprised Kanda the most was the fact that he immediately rushed forward in order to catch the other, even though this particular individual could possibly be an enemy. But he did and by doing so he noticed that the boy was incredibly light. As he lowered him to the ground, Kanda suddenly noticed that his wounds had started healing. Feeling a certain need to confirm something, he pushed the mask away from the other's face, revealing a crimson scar half-concealed by a pair of snow-white bangs. The other's face was pale as death itself and his eyes were closed. Laying a finger onto the other's throat, Kanda felt a faint pulse. But why did he care anyway? Why did he give a damn about this kid's life when they had seemingly been trying to kill each other merely minutes ago? All these annoying questions pestering him… How did his wounds heal this quickly anyway?

He looked around, spotting that same miserable-looking woman from before beneath what seemed to be a giant rewinding clock. _So you were compatible after all…_

Knowing that they had now – more or less – found two more exorcists brought no real joy to him in this situation since he still needed to save Lenalee and get them all out of this place. With little effort, he picked the white-haired teen up and tossed him in the gloomy-looking woman's general direction. "Make sure he keeps breathing," Kanda said as he readied himself on breaking out of the sphere. "I've got some questions for him."

As Kanda emerged from the sphere, he was immediately greeted by Road and her akuma. "So you actually managed to beat him?" Road whistled, looking fairly impressed. "Or did he just break?"

Kanda gritted his teeth, feeling a great anger surging within him as he raised Mugen.

Road smirked as she jumped backwards, leaving her akuma to deal with the furious samurai. "A-ah," she said, sounding disappointed as she twirled her umbrella. "It was no fun playing with you low-lives after all… I'm leaving… I have homework to do."

"Wait," Kanda shouted as he narrowly evaded an attack and sliced up the akuma responsible for it. "Aren't you going to take back that doll of yours?"

Road merely pulled out a lollipop, stuck it into her mouth and snapped her fingers, making one of her doors appear. She giggled as she entered it, sparing a single look at the samurai who was still fighting against the remaining two akuma.

"I have no interest in broken toys," she said before the door shut behind her. "Akuma, it's an order. Self-detonate!"

"Holy…" Kanda hissed as he swiftly jumped in direction of the chair Lenalee was still sitting in, grabbed a hold of her and entered the sphere just as the two remaining akuma exploded. He caught a vague glimpse of the woman and that white-haired kid, whose Innocence seemed to have deactivated since the white cloak was now gone. By the looks of it, he still hadn't regained consciousness. Kanda was about to say something to the unlucky woman, but before he had the chance to do so the entire dimension started cracking and falling apart, its pieces getting swallowed in an endless darkness as Road's door disappeared into nothingness.

Once Miranda's Innocence finally deactivated, there were three unmoving bodies on her floor. Though on second thought, make that two, since one of them actually stirred. The white-haired one sat up in much pain judging by his facial expression, letting his eyes wander around the room, first looking towards the fallen exorcists, then towards the grandfather clock and then towards Miranda, where they stayed. Involuntarily, Miranda shuddered, as she had yet to determine whether this white-haired boy was an enemy or not, but to her great surprise he smiled at her, holding out his hand towards her as though he wished to greet her. After a bit of hesitation she took it, finding to her surprise that his hand gave her a warm and pleasant sensation. "I suppose I should thank you," the boy said. "You saved me."

"Who are you?" she asked. "I've never been thanked, not ever… because I've never been useful… or acknowledged as a human being…"

"Nice to meet you," the boy said. "My name is Allen, Allen Walker."

Miranda blinked. "Allen?" she asked with concern in her voice as the white-haired teen once again started coughing. "Are you alright?"

"No problem," Allen said, getting to his feet, wobbling a bit. "You should be more concerned about the others; I have to go."

Miranda started crying again. "This is all my fault…" she whispered. "If I just hadn't… then this wouldn't have…"

Allen put a hand onto her head, nudging it lightly. "I like to believe… that there's a meaning to everything, that everything that happens to us is a part of something greater so that all of our suffering won't be in vain…"

"Are you an exorcist?" Miranda asked suddenly.

"No," Allen said simply as he started making his way to the door. "I do possess Innocence, but I wouldn't call myself one."

"Wait," Miranda said, wiping her tears. "Where are you going? Can't I come with you?"

Allen gave her a questioning look, before smiling sadly at her. "We both have our respective obligations to carry out," he said. "But not in the same way. In the end, we're likely striving for the same goal, but we must not walk the same road."

"Why not?" she asked, getting to her feet. "Why does it have to be that way? I want to help you…"

Allen sighed, laying his hand onto the doorknob. "Unfortunately…" he said. "For a person like me there is no thing as salvation."

He opened the door, turning his head and smiling back at her once last time "Take care."

Then he was gone.

**- ****o0o -**

Allen walked down the streets while snowflakes fell all around him, and he looked up at the grey skies. "For a person like me there'll be no salvation," he repeated, his voice a mere whisper. He pulled his coat closer to himself as he passed by a window, catching sight of his reflection for a brief moment, seeing the ever-grinning shadow hovering over him like the Grim Reaper himself. Then he continued walking, at a faster pace.

**- ****o0o -**


	5. Crossroads

**(Edited 17/12-12)**

**- ****o0o -**

**Crossroads**

**- ****o0o -**

Allen was neatly pushed down into a chair by Tyki, who gave him a serious look before leaving the room, saying something about fetching a pair of towels. Allen looked down at himself, only then really noticing the state of his clothes, seeing that they were wet from the brief encounter with rain that he had before returning to the Ark.

He coughed slightly, still able to taste blood in his mouth. The rebound from having his Innocence invoked over a longer period of time was a bit worse than he had expected, but it had arrived at a moment which made his pretence of being under Road's control much more realistic. In a way, the mission had been a success; they hadn't gotten the Innocence in the end, but they hadn't gone for it either, seeing that their main objectives had been to breed fear and to spread confusion amongst the exorcists. Making them think that Allen himself was merely a doll under Road's influence had been somewhat improvised, but there was a slight possibility that they had bought it, entirely or just a part of it. If not, at least such a charade was likely to have sown some seeds of doubts in the ones who had witnessed it…

Timcanpy was fluttering around his head, seemingly nervous as it watched how Allen started coughing more violently.

"Are you alright there, Boy?" Tyki said as he stood in the doorway, holding a blanket and a pair of towels. "That's a nasty cough you've got."

Allen looked up from beneath his dripping bangs before leaning back into the chair. "It's nothing serious," he said, suppressing another round of coughs. "Just some rebound and perhaps a cold or something…"

Tyki heaved a sigh as he draped the blanket around the white-haired teen's shoulders before starting to dry the other's hair with a towel. Allen gave him an irritated look but didn't say anything. "Road is worried about you," Tyki said, shrugging mildly. "And also, it seems like the Earl wants to speak with you."

Allen heaved a sigh as well, pulling the blanket closer, looking at the floor. "Tyki…" he said after a while, looking up at the Noah of Pleasure. "Why are you here?"

Tyki looked down at him, frowning a bit. "Can't I visit my own home?" he asked, sounding almost like he was accusing him, wearing a don't-you-want-me-here look on his face.

Allen looked up at him, annoyed. "I asked you why you're here and not with your human companions like you usually are."

Tyki blinked for a moment, but then he smiled. "Can't I spend some time with you, Allen?" he asked, tasting the name which he rarely used as he said it. "You're one of my human companions as well, aren't you?"

Allen's eyes darkened. "What are you after?"

Tyki continued smiling, feigning innocence. "Your company?"

Allen continued glaring at him for a few moments before he seemingly gave in, accepted the hand Tyki had offered him and was pulled to his feet and led out of the room and down the hallway.

"Your hands are cold." Tyki said, squeezing his hand slightly.

"My heart is cold," Allen responded.

Tyki raised an eyebrow. "You have a cold," he then concluded. "Let's get something warm to eat, shall we?"

_- _o0o -

Kanda woke up to the face of a person who he'd rather not see in a very long time, adorned with a relieved smile at seeing him awake, not to mention alive and kicking, albeit in what seemed to be a hospital bed. "Hello Kanda," Komui Lee said somewhat cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"

The raven-haired samurai suddenly felt an urgent need to hurt someone, but instead he sat up, wearing the same foul expression he was known for as he searched for Mugen with his eyes, finding it in the hands of his Supervisor. Now that was NOT a place where he wanted his sword to be.

"I repaired it while you were still out," Komui said with a shrug after putting the sword down onto the small table by the bed. "I didn't have to patch you up though… due to certain conditions of course… But none of your physical injuries were as bad as I had feared…"

Kanda glared at him. "Why are you here?"

Komui looked at him, changing into his serious mode as he pushed his glasses further up the ridge of his nose. "Exactly what happened here, Kanda?" he asked, sitting down on a chair by the bed, leaning forward onto his elbows as though he was expecting answers.

Kanda continued glaring at him since he didn't really have much of an answer to give, all while Komui continued looking at some notes.

"According to Miranda Lotto, who witnessed pretty much all of it, there was something about approximately four akuma accompanying a girl with stigmata and… a white-haired boy with a claw of some sort? Can you confirm this information?"

Kanda nodded grimly. "I saw them," he said after a while, trying to put his thoughts into words. "The girl identified herself as Road Camelot of the Noah clan and she claimed that she was one of God's true apostles…"

Komui briefly looked up from his notes. "And the boy?"

Kanda shrugged, seemingly indifferent, but on the inside he was boiling with what seemed to be suppressed rage as he recalled the white-haired figure which had seemingly haunted his dreams; he had seen the other's face and he had touched him. The body had been solid – a bit on the lighter side – but still real… undeniably real. Kanda remembered that the boy's skin had been cold and that he had been pale – like a corpse – pale as death itself. The conversation with Road Camelot resurfaced in his memory.

"_I have no interest in broken toys."_

From what Kanda had experienced Road had left the white-haired teen – Allen – behind, but in such case, where had he gone?

"From what I could tell…" Kanda said after a brief pause as he tried to sort out his thoughts. "He was in possession of a parasitic Innocence. Body armour, I think. From my point of view it, looked like he was being controlled by the Noah."

Komui looked up again with clear interest. "Controlled? How?"

Kanda tilted his head to the side. "I don't know," he said. "But one of the akuma present under the incident had an ability to make sounds which could cause people's nerves to go into a state of deep shock… the same one Lenalee was affected by."

"If you were able to observe that much, how come you couldn't prevent it?" Komui asked, his face looking like it had been carved in stone. Kanda knew this face very well, since it was a face that Komui wore whenever Lenalee's life had been subjected to danger.

"I wasn't able to," Kanda responded. "But I tried."

Komui's facial expression softened a bit, but he still seemed a bit upset. Kanda shot him a truly unfriendly glare. "I ask again and you know I hate repeating myself… Why. Are. You. Here?"

Komui didn't answer. Kanda's expression darkened. "What is the Noah clan?"

Komui still didn't answer. A voice from the doorway did it in his place. "That's what he came to ask us," a redhead wearing a green and black headband said as he looked at the two of them with an amused expression in his single green eye, glimmering with mischief.

At the sight of this particular and apparently familiar individual, Kanda's hands immediately started trailing closer to Mugen's handle, resulting in a grin from the individual in question. "You are as friendly as ever, Yu," the redhead said, grin widening.

"Don't call me that unless you want to die," Kanda hissed at him. "_BakaUsagi_."

"Aw, come on Yu, don't be like that," the redhead laughed. "Won't you come out and build some snowmen with me?"

Kanda growled and unsheathed Mugen.

"I think you shouldn't do that, Lavi," Komui said as he had once again buried himself in his notes. "Any news on Lenalee's condition?"

Lavi scratched his head. "The old man is trying out some acupuncture on her, but he hasn't made much progress yet… but no worries… it'll work out soon enough."

Kanda once again sheathed Mugen.

Bookman was renowned for his skill with the needle. There was probably no need to worry. Not that he actually cared or anything. Now he only needed to figure out why Komui had gone through all the trouble of coming there. From his own personal experience as well as his instincts, he was more or less convinced that it couldn't be a good sign.

Komui accidentally dropped a folder onto the floor and a photograph fell out of it. Kanda stared down at it, recognizing it almost immediately.

General Cross Marian's lazy stare met him. He immediately frowned.

This definitely wasn't good.

_- _o0o -

Miranda Lotto exited the door, looking up at the house where she had been living these last few years. Her grandfather clock was already loaded onto a carriage with the Headquarters of the Black Order as its destination, but she still didn't feel ready to enter it and start up what was likely to become the first day of the rest of her life. She was staring up at the façade of the house, her eyes focused on the window to her apartment, no, her old apartment. She didn't bring that many things with her; the clock itself was the thing she treasured the most. She was thinking about the clock and the new and quite unexpected turn her life had recently taken, but she was also thinking about Allen.

Allen. Allen Walker. He was a mysterious persona, mostly hiding beneath that mask. He looked almost like a ghost with his pale skin, white hair and silver-gray eyes. He had thanked her and he had been nice to her, unlike most other people she had encountered. _I've never been thanked, not ever. I've never been considered useful in any way, but even so I desperately wanted to be appreciated, to be acknowledged as a human being…_

"_Nice to meet you. My name is Allen, Allen Walker."_

He had greeted her and she had shaken his hand, almost wondering whether he had been real or just a hallucination created by her stressed-out mind. She had almost thought of herself as crazy and she still did, but she hadn't told the people of the Black Order about her conversation with Allen; she had simply told them that he was already gone by the time she regained her senses.

_"We both have our respective obligations to carry out, but not in the same way. In the end, we're likely striving for the same goal, but we must not walk the same road."_

Allen wasn't an exorcist; he had claimed so himself. But Miranda still couldn't see him as an enemy; to her he seemed almost more like a friend or ally than the people of the Black Order. That man named Komui had told her about the war they were fighting against the Millennium Earl, but in the end, she couldn't help the feeling she had, whereas it seemed like Allen himself was fighting for something similar, but not in the same way as them.

_"I like to believe… that there's a meaning to everything, that everything that happens to us is a part of something greater so that all our suffering won't be in vain…"_

Allen existed for a purpose and he fought for it as well, in his own way. That was what Miranda chose to believe, but she stayed quiet about it. She had a feeling Allen didn't want to be seen – that he didn't want to be spoken of – at least not until the time was right. But he seemed almost guilty about something, like he was sinning by simply breathing and existing.

"_Unfortunately for a person like me there is no such thing as salvation."_

Allen knew that he was doing things that could be considered wrong and he knew that he was likely to suffer for them later, but he still did them in order to carry out the purpose of his existence.

"_Take care."_

She had asked to go with him, but he had told her not to follow, like he wanted to spare her from whatever road he himself was wandering.

She looked up at the house one last time before stepping into the carriage.

She had a feeling they would meet again someday.

_- _o0o -

The Earl had once again collected all the Noah to dinner when he suddenly and under quite dramatic circumstances announced that they were going to put the plan into action and for once several of the Noah actually seemed genuinely interested in it. The reason for this sudden interest was no doubt found in the particular fact that it involved killing the exorcist generals of the Black Order in order to find out if any of them possessed the mystical Heart, the Innocence which was the source of all others and the key to destroying them as well.

Allen himself didn't mind the upcoming chase that much. If anything, it greatly increased his chances of finding Cross and getting back at him for all those years of misery he had been forced to suffer through, but to his great disappointment it was the twins and not he who got Cross' assassination as their assignment.

After the meeting, Allen personally issued a complaint, even though that was a truly dangerous thing to do since doing so might have incurred the Earl's wrath and caused him further misery later on, but to his surprise the Earl just gave him a light pat on the head. Allen shot him a questioning look but then his eyes narrowed as realisation struck. "You don't think that my body will last long enough for me to be of any use to you if you send me after a general," he growled, his expression darkening. "I'm a Critical myself. I'm on the same level as a general. Not to even mention the fact that I have unfinished business with that man…"

"Cross Marian is a sly bastard… He has several cards up his sleeve and certainly wouldn't hesitate to use them if he needed to," the Earl chuckled, but there was something darker than usual hiding beneath it all. "Not to mention… You do know about the corpse he controls, right?"

"Is this about the Carte Garde?" Allen asked.

The Earl poked at Allen's forehead, right at the inverted star of his curse, causing him to wince slightly. "What the Hell was that for?" Allen hissed, drawing back as the Earl attempted to apply more pressure onto it.

"The mark," the Earl said. "It's getting darker."

"Really?" Allen said somewhat sarcastically as he rubbed it a bit, still feeling the pain. "I haven't looked in a mirror for quite a long time so I didn't notice."

Of course he had noticed it; he would have to be an idiot not to notice it. Of course he had seen it in the mirror, seeing that it was as apparent as the shadow always hovering over him, waiting for him to break down, for him to weaken so that it would be able to take over completely.

Allen had his own goals in life, goals that he did not share with the Fourteenth. He wouldn't lose to the shadow, at least not as long as he was still able to breathe and clearheaded enough to make his own decisions. One of the things in life which he feared and despised was the thought of having his body used as a mindless doll, moving only at the beck and call of others, standing only because his body was being held up by strings…

Allen hadn't minded joining forces with the Earl and becoming his subordinate as long as it was he himself who chose that path for himself. He had no need for a puppet master; he just needed a place to be. He already had his purpose in life, so he didn't need anyone to tell him what he should believe in and what he should fight for. The Earl had not once questioned his motivation to fight and Allen had come over to his side by his own free will. So, if the Earl ordered him directly to kill the exorcists that crossed his path, he wouldn't hesitate even a second, as long as the Earl accepted his conditions. Allen had since long known that he was going to die, but if possible he wanted to die for a reason. He didn't require much more than that.

Allen's thoughts were interrupted as the Earl smacked him on the head with his umbrella. "Allen Walker… Do listen when I'm giving a new mission to you…"

Allen looked up instantly as his ears perked at the word mission. His eyes contained a certain amount of suspicion as he made further inquiry into the matter. "What kind of mission?"

_- _o0o -

"I was intending on giving you the briefing as soon as Lenalee woke up… but I guess it can't be helped," Komui said, sitting down. "A few days ago one of our generals was killed," he continued. "It was Kevin Yeegar. He was found in Belgium, crucified, facing the cross with the words 'God Hunt' carved into his back…"

Kanda snorted. "They're obviously talking about Innocence, so what about it?"

Komui put up his index finger. "Since the generals are searching for new accommodators, they possess a number of Innocence fragments other than their own… With Yeegar we lost a total of nine, as well as a general."

"They're targeting the generals?"

"I'm dispatching all exorcists in small groups to guard each general…"

"As you should remember, I'm a member of Tiedoll's unit, not Cross' unit. If I must protect a general, it should be more natural for me to protect my own general."

"Allow me to explain," Komui responded, sighing heavily. "As soon as Lenalee has recovered, I want you and Lenalee accompanied by Lavi and Bookman to travel east… There's a village in Romania where Cross has been spotted… If you don't find anything you can go just move in the direction of the rumours… knowing Cross and the great amount of debts that has been addressed to us lately I'd say he's currently travelling east, but his current motives are still unknown."

Kanda's eyebrow twitched slightly. "He sent you debts?"

_- _o0o -

"What do you want, Idiot Apprentice?" the old man going by the name of Bookman hissed at the appearance of the red-haired incompetent who could also title himself his apprentice.

Said apprentice scratched his head, looking thoughtful. "Is it true, that the person prophesised to become the Destroyer of Time has appeared?"

Bookman bowed his head slightly, staring at substance in his teacup. "Hevlaska herself predicted it and her prophecies are usually correct… However…"

Lavi leaned forward as Bookman's voice lowered considerably. "However?"

Bookman continued staring into his teacup. "…That was only after the person had already turned Critical," he continued, lowering his voice a bit more. "The real question is… where is he and why didn't the Order know about him before Hevlaska sensed them?"

"Then there are at least two possibilities…" Lavi smirked a bit, raising his index finger. "One, the unknown Critical has no contact with the Order whatsoever and has reached this point all by himself, which is very unlikely… Two, it is possible for him to be the apprentice of a general, and since there's only one general who isn't reporting to the Order he is in such case very likely to be an apprentice of Cross…"

Bookman snorted. "You're still too naïve… Nothing can be said for certain until we see him with our own eyes."

"True," Lavi sighed, stretching. "But in the end, wasn't that the reason as to why we agreed to join in on this expedition in the first place?"

_- _o0o -

Allen shot the Earl a sceptical look. "What kind of mission?"

The Earl grinned at him like always, handing him a weird-looking card. Allen took it and frowned at it. "What is this?"

"A list."

Allen looked up at him, his silver-grey eyes narrowing. "For what?"

"For individuals I wish to have eliminated."

Allen looked at the card again, but not at the names, but at the figure which was moving inside of the card.

"That is the Cell Roron, the prisoner of the List Cage," the Earl responded, even before he had posed the question.

Allen looked more closely at the rather amusing figure which was seemingly imprisoned in the card, in a room with walls covered with countless names. A few of these seemed vaguely familiar to him, but there was one particular name which stood out more than the others, filling him with several conflicting emotions…

Cross Marian.

Even though the Earl had officially given the other Noah orders to eliminate the generals, he apparently didn't give a damn about who actually succeeded in ridding him of what was likely his most troublesome enemy, as long as it was done. Also, on the subject of assassination, in Allen's own personal opinion, he had much higher chances of succeeding than the twins, since he had been living with Cross for several years and knew the man's rotten morals and habits inside out, or at least he thought he did. "In what way may I be of assistance, Earl?"

The Earl chuckled.

_- _o0o -

He stared at the list for a moment before shoving it into his pocket, stalking off down the hallway.

A few years ago, he would probably have been horrified at the thought of killing other human beings, but now was different. Hunting exorcists hadn't been a part of his original plan, but as long as the Earl kept up his end of the bargain, Allen felt like he could make exceptions. Evidently, he didn't trust the Earl and neither did he trust the other members of the Noah clan. If they betrayed him, he would immediately betray them; they were the unsaid but still apparent rules which they were all playing after. _Always keep an ace or a king up your sleeve, since you never know if the other players are cheating as well…_

Blindly trusting others were often the same as suicide, and at least in his mind, Allen kept his mind open to the possibility of being betrayed, and therefore he always needed to have a backup plan, just in case it ever happened. He knew better than to trust others after all, knowing well that promises and the people behind them were fickle indeed.

The shadow flashed by in the mirror when he went past, towering over him for a brief moment. He paid it no heed, continuing on his way, heading towards the gate which would take him to the outside world.

_- _o0o -


	6. The Journey to the East

**(Edited 21/1-13)**

_- _o0o -

**The Journey to the East**

_- _o0o -

Kanda snorted, silently wondering how the Hell he had ended up in this kind of ridiculous situation, as he made his way up to this supposed 'vampire's' castle along with the overly cheerful idiot and a torch-bearing mob.

The mission – which had started out as a simple investigation of clues as to their wayward generals general whereabouts – had somehow turned into a vampire hunt.

Apparently, these inbred peasants wanted them to slay the count – Count Aleister Crowley the Third, to be exact – since said count was apparently a vampire and had attacked people in the village. Truly, the only reason as to why Kanda even went along on this was due to the very vital piece of information which said that the ever-elusive general had visited said count's castle fairly recently, following which the attacks had apparently begun.

Once they reached the gate, the torch-bearing mob suddenly stopped in their tracks, apparently too cowardly to advance any further, leaving Kanda to continue on with his moronic and rather useless sidekick. He snorted again. "Let's go."

_- _o0o -

"What's the matter, Lord? You seem troubled."

A woman stepped out of the shadows, approaching the trembling figure of the count where he stood. "Eliade…" the man whispered, looking down at his hands in despair. "I fear I have become a vampire again…"

The woman spared the body on the floor – the corpse – a short look. "He's already dead, my Lord," she then said. "I shall bury him with the others."

Count Crowley just continued staring at his own hands. "What have I become? What sort of monster am I?"

Eliade embraced him, holding him tightly. "It can't be helped… You're a vampire…"

Sharp fangs came too close for comfort, but she still didn't break the embrace. Crowley on the other hand soon broke free, staggering backwards with tears in his eyes. "Don't come near me! Please! E-Eliade… I…"

She watched him in silence for a few moments before once again capturing him in her embrace, running her hands through his hair while whispering into his ear. "I love you too, Lord Aleister. Let's live together in this castle forever… Who cares about what the outside world thinks? It means nothing to us now…"

She cut herself off suddenly as there was a slight cough and Eliade swivelled around, stepping away from the count. "Who's there?"

Allen – having cut the sappy romance talk short by coughing and thereby making his presence known – shrugged mildly. "I was going to stay silent in order not to ruin the moment, but I guess that has gone to waste now…" he said, shrugging mildly. "Who I am is none of your business, but I am here on business… on the behalf of your boss."

Eliade took a step backwards while the count looked confused. "Eliade… What's going on? Who is that?"

"It's nothing, my Lord," she said. "He and I just need to have a little chat."

Allen – masked as he was – merely raised his hand. "To be completely honest…" he said, his voice betraying his boredom. "There's not really much need to talk since I'm merely here to observe."

"Observe?" Eliade asked, suspicious. "For what purpose?"

He tilted his head to the side as a grin spread across his face. "For fun… and because my own lord has demanded that I do that," he said. "And also, if any of you try to off me, then I am permitted to off you myself. Just to inform you."

Then, he tilted his head to the other side. "And while we're still on the subject, I might as well inform you that I am not the only trespasser in the castle tonight."

Eliade's eyes narrowed."You're not here for us?"

"Not really," he responded, shrugging mildly. "I am here merely to observe, therefore I am not obliged to interfere. This means that if you don't lay hands on me, I won't lay hands on you…"

He took a step forward, illuminating himself in the moonlight which was streaming in from the window, holding his hand out to a still confused Crowley. "Do we have an agreement?"

_- _o0o -

Having reached an agreement with the count himself, Allen retreated to his newly attained position up on the tower roof, where he had quite a superb view on what was going on in the area, pulling off his mask and wiping some sweat off his face; he was feeling unusually hot. Pressing the back of his hand to his forehead, he swiftly concluded that his body temperature was apparently a bit higher than it should have been. He was running a fever by the looks of it, either due to a cold or maybe due to his Innocence running haywire, as the latter had a certain tendency of doing at the least appropriate of moments. Nonetheless, it didn't matter much; it probably wasn't all that serious, and due to his possession of a parasitic Innocence, his regular body temperature was normally a few degrees higher than a normal human's anyway, so he supposed he might as well ignore it. Besides, seeing that he didn't exactly have to engage in any sort of confrontation soon as far as he was aware, the fact that he was feeling a bit tired and weary didn't matter that much either.

With a sigh, he deactivated his Innocence and the white cloak disappeared, but the mask still remained in his hands. An involuntary chill ran down his spine and he pulled the black coat he had been wearing underneath more tightly around himself. Then he looked up as his ears registered the vague sound of a door being opened. Allen sighed again, putting the mask back on his face before he began walking down the empty corridor.

As it appeared, the actors of that day's performance had arrived.

_- _o0o -

"I knew we should've brought a torch or something…" Lavi said as they entered the dark, damp and seemingly deserted castle, having left the torch-bearing mob behind at the gates as the latter cowardly retreated back into the woods.

Kanda snorted, ignoring the idiot in favour of taking in his dark surroundings, trying to grasp them. There was something in there; something nearby, something dangerous. His fingers twitched, inching towards Mugen's handle as he took a step forward, waiting for his eyes to fully adapt to the darkness.

A large staircase came into view, and they warily headed towards it and made their way upwards. Reaching the second floor and turning around the corner, they found themselves within this strange kind of purple mist which hung in the air, lying thicker closer to the stone floor.

It did not take long for him to determine the mist's strange effects, and he grabbed onto the somewhat sluggish idiot by his collar, pulling him back just in time to avoid getting devoured by the monstrous plant which suddenly turned up before them, soon to be joined by several other aggressive and supposedly flesh-eating plants. The plant closest to Kanda launched a fierce attack and he barely evaded it, the narcotics in the mist causing his mind to get sluggish. "What the Hell is this place?"

_- _o0o -

Allen's eyes snapped open at the sound of an explosion, startled. The roof he had been napping on previously shook a bit with the force of the impact, and he threw a glance down at the castle grounds, idly observing the smoke as it rose. Apparently, someone had blown a hole in the wall down there. "Honestly, what have they been doing?" he muttered, sitting up.

Timcanpy flopped down into his hand, opening its mouth to project scattered images of what had taken place during the time he had taken a nap, filling him in on details such as the fact that the exorcists had run into a Level-Two who had fed a deceased Level-One to a flesh-eating plant and thereby caused this great explosion. Wonderful.

He pulled out the List from his pocket, directing himself to the Cell Roron. "Are there any people on the List nearby?"

The Cell Roron shook its head, and Allen sighed somewhat disappointedly, sliding the card back into his pocket. Then he looked up, his eyes eerily determined.

_- _o0o -

"Lord Aleister…"

Aleister Crowley looked up at the roughed up shape of his lover as she entered his quarters, sobbing. "What's wrong?"

She wiped her eyes, whispering to him. "Two exorcists have come to kill you… They attacked me! They destroyed the flowers near the main stairway! I was so scared!"

She then threw herself at him, clinging to him as he began to shake in anger. "What?" he growled, entering a state of ferociousness. "Curse them! How dare they destroy grandfather's precious flowers?"

She still clung to him, whispering in his ear. "Kill them, Lord Aleister… please…"

He seemed hesitant, but she could tell that he was wavering. "If you don't, they'll kill us…" she went on, brushing some hair away from his forehead as she smiled sadly at him. "You're a vampire, Lord Aleister… You're their enemy…"

"But I…"

She unbuttoned her uniform, leaving her neck exposed. "Drink some of my blood," she said, cupping his cheeks. "Just a little bit, so that it won't kill me… so that we can live together in this castle forever…"

He hesitated only for a few moments before biting down, intoxicated by the smell of her blood. He was clearly afraid of not being able to control himself – of drinking too much of it – but in the end, it wasn't like he had a choice to begin with. For her sake, he would do anything, because without her, he had nothing.

_- _o0o -

As the smoke had begun to clear from the explosion, two quite roughed up exorcists crawled up from a pile of rubble. "Uwa…" Lavi said, breathing heavily. "I honestly thought I was a goner."

"If you were dead then how would I be able to kill you again?" Kanda hissed. "Since it's your fault that we nearly got ourselves killed back there."

Lavi smiled sheepishly. "It isn't as if this kind of small blast would kill you, Yu. You're sturdy material after all."

Kanda's eyebrow twitched. Then, he got to his feet, brushing the dust off his clothes. With Mugen in a firm grip, he looked up at the remnants of the castle, the parts of it which hadn't been affected by the blast. A smirk appeared on his face. "I believe it is high time for us to go slay some vampire."

Then, there was a tap on his shoulder and he turned, shooting an irritated glare in Lavi's direction. "What is it?"

Lavi laughed awkwardly. "Yu… Haven't you noticed something?"

Kanda's eyebrow twitched again. "Noticed what?"

"That we're standing in the middle of a freaking graveyard?"

Kanda finally had a look around and was honestly surprised at the fact that indeed, the idiot was correct, seeing that they were standing right in the middle of one. Mentally, he started counting the marked graves. "Eight," he said after a while. "It's the same as the number of victims, if one excludes that last one and the one which evaporated on spot."

Lavi shuddered a bit. "Yu… People don't normally evaporate on the spot right, do they?"

Kanda snorted."Of course not. There's been something fishy going on here, something which doesn't fit the picture…"

"Then maybe the corpses of Crowley's victims can tell us something…" Lavi offered with an unusual amount of helpfulness. "Why don't you check it out?"

Kanda looked up, his eyes narrowing. "Why me?" he asked. "I don't care about it, so why do I have to do it?"

Lavi smiled bleakly at him. "Let's do rock paper scissors about who digs up the graves."

Kanda tilted his head to the side. "It was your own freaking idea, so why the Hell should I be forced to go along with it?"

Lavi put his hands together, bowing his head. "Please?"

Kanda snorted. "They're dead, idiot. Just what the Hell are you so freaking afraid of?"

"And I would certainly want for them to stay dead since we've got a vampire – a walking _corpse_ – to investigate," Lavi responded, laughing somewhat awkwardly.

"Not investigate. _Slay_. Try saying it," Kanda shot back, barely resisting a sudden urge to roll his eyes.

"Okay, slay," Lavi responded. "Happy? Now do the digging and I'll have a look around…"

Kanda was just about to protest when he was suddenly alerted by a shadow appearing seemingly out of nowhere behind Lavi's back. His pupils dilated slightly. "Never mind that, just look behind you!" he shouted, just as a very surprised Lavi was slammed headfirst into a brick wall and the shadow which had previously been standing behind him stepped out into the moonlight, revealing a black-cloaked manlike figure with pale complexion and a bloodthirsty fanged expression.

"So, it's you two… You've made me very angry…"

Kanda activated Mugen and assumed attack position as the vampire dashed off, obviously aiming for his throat. Kanda skilfully evaded it, although he just had to admit that the vampire's speed might prove to be a problem, simultaneously concluding that the idiot was likely to be out for the count and thus could by no means be relied upon, and in addition, he was also able to conclude that the vampire in question did not have the vibe that was typical of akuma. In such case, considering things, there were really just two different possibilities…

A gust of wind blew past, sending a slight chill down his spine. A flash of something in white beneath the moon turned up in his vision, and it was enough to divert his attention long enough for him to be taken by surprise at the vampire's next onslaught, slamming him through a window and into a following wall with quite a bit of force.

Count Crowley smirked. "Humph. Finished already, are we?"

Then he looked up, noticing the presence looming above them. "You there," he said. "Are you enjoying the show?"

The cloaked figure gave him a slight applause, smirking. "I'm just waiting for the encore."

Crowley raised an eyebrow and was about to inquire further into the matter, but before he was able to he had to dodge a giant hammer which had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Adjusting the headband on his bleeding head, Lavi stood up. "Feh. You actually caught me by surprise, so I'm a bit pissed off. But to think you would actually be able to knock down a thick-headed person like Kanda is truly unexpected… But I think I'm gonna beat you to a bloody pulp before I try talking some sense into you…"

Crowley smirked. "Sounds like fun."

_- _o0o -

Kanda got up slowly, clutching his throbbing head, staggering a bit as he held onto a bookshelf for support. Apparently, he had landed into some sort of library, judging from the hordes of books that were either shelved or lying scattered on the floor around him. He spotted Mugen on the floor a bit further away and went to fetch it, all while he continued to battle his extreme headache. Judging by the ruckus from the outside, the fight was still on, meaning that Lavi had likely recovered.

Something trickled down his throat and he pressed his hand to it. He could smell that it was blood, meaning that the blow had done more damage to him than expected. He did still feel a bit sluggish, indicating that he might have a concussion. This impression was only strengthened by the fact that he failed to notice his foe before said foe was already upon him, in the shape of the suspicious woman they had previously encountered. "Oh my… Aren't you dead yet? I thought I told Aleister to slaughter you…"

Kanda's grip on Mugen's hilt tightened as he finally noticed bite marks on her neck, and the woman's smirk widened into a grin as her face rapidly started changing, her facial expression growing more sinister for each second that passed. "I might as well try it out now that I actually have the chance… the taste of an exorcist's blood…"

She lashed out, but Kanda had seen it coming. However, his perception and reflexes were still a bit slow after the blow. Cursing his own carelessness, he once again found himself slammed up against a wall or a bookshelf in this case, and as the pressure on his ribcage suddenly increased tenfold, Mugen was sent clattering down to the floor. Now, Kanda wasn't only cursing his own carelessness, but also his own stupidity and weakness as well as his failure to realise the woman's true identity as an akuma a bit earlier, before she had transformed part of her freaking arm in order to trap him in his current position. The pressure increased and Kanda knew that his ribs would start snapping at any moment. The situation felt familiar, far too familiar and utterly pathetic. His experience of déjà vu only increased when a white-cloaked figure turned up in his line of vision.

_- _o0o -

Lavi jumped backwards again, evading yet another attack before pausing briefly, leaning onto his hammer for support. "You know…" he said, having regained his breath a bit. "You were sucking akuma blood…"

Crowley didn't look very impressed, ready to attack once more. "Humph… If that was the case, I would've died from the poison, would I not? Now stop running away so that I can kill you…"

Lavi evaded yet another attack, defending himself from razor-sharp fangs with his hammer. "Hey, hold on a minute…" he shouted. "There are cases where people don't die… I have a theory!"

"I don't give a damn about your theories!" Crowley shot back, continuing his onslaught. "I just want to break that little neck of yours!"

Lavi jumped backwards again, glancing backwards for a brief moment to notice that he had been backed into a corner. He held up his hands. "Hey, listen to me when I'm talking to you!" he said, speaking hurriedly. "Okay, here's what I think: you're compatible with a parasitic Innocence which can neutralize the poison and unknowingly, you've been targeting akuma…"

Crowley's snorted, but didn't say anything. Lavi, relieved that the attacks seemed to have ceased momentarily, taking the opportunity to continue speaking. "Those hard teeth… aren't they Innocence?"

"I don't give a damn," Crowley retorted. "I just happen to enjoy the hunt."

"If you like to hunt akuma, then you should join up with us and hunt them at your heart's content…" Lavi tried.

Crowley laughed. "I only said that I hunt for the thrill of it… So I might as well hunt you!"

Lavi smirked, holding up his hammer. "Extend."

The hammer's handle grew longer and Lavi used the chance to jump over the rather surprised vampire, landing on the ground a bit further away as the hammer reverted back into its previous size. He turned around, holding the hammer in his hands. "Really, you're quite strong…" he said in a quite cheerful tone. "And not holding back at all from it seems… Nonetheless…" his voice took on a bit serious tone while his smile remained the same. "Won't you think it over and give me an answer when you wake up, Count?"

He was just about to go through with the attack when something suddenly happened. Crowley stopped in his attempted assault, fell to his knees while clutching his head, his face wearing an expression of great terror. "Hey, what's the matter?" Lavi shouted. "Running out of steam already?"

The other did not seem to hear him as he began slamming his head against a dead tree nearby, repeatedly claiming that something or another was "impermissible". Lavi blinked at this kind of display, feeling somewhat at loss as to what to do for a moment. Then, he smiled. "Well…" he said, raising his hammer once again. "I don't know what's happening to you, but since this is such a good opportunity to attack I'll just go ahead. No hard feelings, 'kay?

_- _o0o -

"You really are a nasty brat, aren't you?" Eliade muttered while brushing some dust away from her partially tattered clothes.

Allen said nothing, flexing his claws; she had lashed out at him and he had attacked on instinct, slashing her shoulder. It was a shallow cut overall; it was really just a tear in the human shell she was wearing. He spared a look at the raven-haired exorcist who was still slumped against a nearby bookshelf as the latter glared at him but still far too preoccupied with resupplying oxygen to his body to make an inquiry about the rather unusual twist of this particular situation. He turned back to the akuma, kicking up an eyebrow beneath his mask. "Aren't you going to transform?"

A look filled to the brim with contempt was directed at him, all while she brought her hands up to her face. Almost immediately, she began adopting more gruesome features as an inverted black pentagram appeared on her forehead. "I prefer not to be ugly unless I have to…" she responded as she finished transforming. "But I don't have much of a choice now, do I?"

Allen's eyebrow twitched as the somewhat wormlike Level-Two launched an attack. He swiftly evaded it, jumping backwards and landing a bit further away with a smirk on his face as his white cloak billowed around him. "The outer shell isn't everything, you know… They say that true beauty lies on the inside…"

"I don't give a damn about the words of a hypocrite!" the akuma shouted as it launched another attack which was also evaded.

He once again evaded, turning around and before he took off running down the hallway. "Tell me that after you've caught and killed me!" he shouted after her, and she swiftly picked up the chase, and he led her further away from the scene – for reasons unbeknownst to himself – until his mad dash was brought to a sudden halt as the wall before him came crumbling down as a crimson dragon appeared before him. "What the Hell?" he shouted before he was consumed by the fire, as his Innocence came down to shield him from the flames.

Thick suffocating darkness surrounded him, making breathing nearly impossible and very painful. Where was he? Hadn't he been swallowed by that dragon of flames? Shouldn't he be burning right now? No, the Innocence had shielded him, so that shouldn't be possible. Then what? Oxygen failure? Perhaps, that did seem quite likely, but why was it so dark in there… But why did all of this feel so strangely familiar?_ "Allen…"_

He tried to turn around, but his body refused to move. Simply breathing proved painful enough. "Mana?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the selfsame man he had once loved so much, the same man who was also responsible for his curse. _"Let yourself fall…deeper into the world of black and white…"_

He was falling, actually falling. Then the darkness turned into blinding light, surrounding him.

_- _o0o -

"What the Hell are you doing?" Kanda shouted from the second floor down to the first floor since the roof had caved in due to a certain red-haired exorcist.

Lavi looked up, a bright grin decorating his pretty beaten up face. "Yu!" he shouted happily. "You're still alive!"

Kanda didn't respond as he turned his attention to the still raging fire dragon as he suddenly noted that something seemed to be very off with it as the flames suddenly started turning into something else. "What the Hell…?"

The flames seemed to be freezing, or turning into some kind of weird grey matter.

Kanda jumped down, his feet making a muffled impact on the stone floor. Lavi ran towards him, looking like he was about to try and hug him or something. "Yu! You're alive!"

Kanda pointed Mugen in his general direction. "Why do you sound so freaking surprised, you idiot?" he growled. "And just what the Hell is going on with this?" He made a gesture towards the dragon, which definitely wasn't made out of flames anymore.

Lavi frowned. "I don't really know …" he said, reaching out to touch the foreign material. "Ashes, maybe?"

Kanda raised an eyebrow, looking disbelievingly at the dragon. "Ashes?"

A crack was heard and a bit of it broke loose, shattering around a figure lying on the floor. The very familiar white-cloaked figure – covered in ashes – coughed weakly, pressing a hand against his unmasked face.

_- _o0o -

Allen sat up with a lot of effort, still feeling as though someone had recently tried their luck at crushing his ribcage or at puncturing his lungs. He spared one look at the dragon – or rather, what was left of it – and then he gave the two exorcists, one staring at him from a few metres away and the other approaching, all while his oxygen-deprived brain sluggishly tried to process the situation. _Right… Think of a plan… Think of a plan… Think of a pla-…_

A brief pain in the back of his head and the blackness that followed spared him the effort, and he collapsed limply onto the ground like a doll that had had its strings severed as his Innocence deactivated.

_- _o0o -

"Yu… Was that really necessary?" Lavi asked.

"Shut up", Kanda said, shoving the limp white-haired teen into the other's arms.

"But I must say that I'm fairly impressed…" Lavi said, hoisting the teen onto his back. "He took a direct hit from my fire dragon and he wasn't reduced to cinders… Sturdy material, I'd say."

"Whatever…" Kanda muttered. "We've still got that akuma and that vampire guy to take care of."

Lavi paid him no attention, since it was occupied by something behind the samurai. "Um Yu…"

The other looked up. "What?"

The redhead pointed shakily at the aforementioned source of attention.

_- _o0o -

Silver-grey eyes opened slightly, meeting with a very blurry reality. Something golden was beating its wings against his cheeks. "Tim?" He immediately sat himself upright, a bit too fast as a massive headache struck him, nearly sending him right back into unconsciousness. He looked around, eyes levelling on the forest of flowers hovering above him. His eyes widened as one of those flowers crept uncomfortably close to him. "This plant… Rosanne?"

"_Allen… If anything happens to Rosanne, I'll return it a thousand times to you…"_

_Be gone, traumatizing memory, be gone…_

The flower opened up a bit, revealing a row of very sharp teeth as Allen resisted a sudden urge to crawl backwards. _Right… How did I avoid getting eaten by these again?_

Hesitating, he reached out towards it, even though his instincts told him that he might get his hand bitten off. His brain still didn't seem to be working properly, but he said the first thing which came to mind. "I love you."

To his surprise, the flower convulsed and soon afterwards spit out a very wet exorcist right in front of him and another soon followed. "What the…?" one of them hissed, sitting himself up.

By reflex, Allen once again invoked his Innocence and the mask covered his face as he glanced down at them. Kanda turned his head upwards, looking at him with narrowed eyes. "You."

Allen tilted his head to the side in response to the tone of the other's voice. "Is that really any way to address the person who just saved your respective arses from becoming nutrition to a bunch of flesh-eating plants?"

"Man… I really thought of myself as a goner…" the redhead supposedly named Lavi groaned. "What are those anyway?"

Allen sighed; if these exorcists were always this way then the future of the Black Order was indeed grim; not that it was particularly bad for him or anything. It was quite the opposite really. "Those are flesh-eating plants… However, they do not attack people who show affection for them."

Lavi looked at him then, wide-eyed. "You really are sturdy material! Why are you walking around so casually after taking a direct hit from my flames and then Mugen's hilt to the head on top of it? That's freaking inhuman…"

Allen tilted his head to the other side. "I've had far worse… and I have other stuff to do…"

He was right about to take his leave – in other words, he was about to make a swift getaway – when another wave of pain went through him, focusing itself around his left eye. "Ugh…" _Not this again…_

"Hey? Are you alright? Your eye's bleeding!"

_The curse… it's…_

_- _o0o -

"Aleister! Lord Aleister!"

Someone was calling, calling for him. "Eli…ade?"

She looked relieved, vaguely, but nearly instantly stiffened when his eyes widened as he noticed the thing which was seemingly hovering above her, that dreadful thing which caused his blood to freeze in his veins. "What is it?" he croaked. "What is that, coming out of you?"

Eliade shot him a look of dread, as though he had discovered something unspeakable. She didn't answer, but someone else did, answering in her stead. "That… is the soul of a human, trapped within an akuma."

Crowley sent off a shocked look in the direction of the one that had spoken, that white-cloaked guy from before, but this time he was without a mask and in its place was a monocle, swirling before an eye which was almost completely black, with the exception of a thin red pupil which was staring straight at him. "You…"

_- _o0o -

"It seems that you're able to see it as well, am I right?" Allen stated and judging from Aleister Crowley's shocked facial expression, he had been correct in his assumptions. _So the curse has grown stronger after all…_

For a moment, he even found himself pitying the man, but a second later the emotion faded from his mind, mostly since those exorcists had caught up to him again. "Yu! What the Hell is that?"

Allen felt like smacking his own forehead, but refrained from doing so since he was still suffering from a rather extreme migraine, not to mention the fact that the back of his head was still hurting like Hell from before. Come to think of it; he still hadn't extracted his revenge for that. On the other hand, since his cover was pretty much blown by then, he might as well do as he wished from that point on… without a mask.

"In case you're interested…" he said in a voice dripping of sarcasm. "That is what an akuma's soul looks like."

"You shitty brat…" Eliade hissed. "I should've killed you all when I had the chance."

Allen tilted his head to the side. "When was that?"

Withdrawing suddenly like an injured animal, Eliade began converting to her true form. Crowley stood up, looking at her with sorrowful eyes. "I loved you from the moment we met", he said. "In such case, why didn't you kill me back then?"

"Because I was merely using you!" she shouted, having fully converted into her true form. "I just wanted something out of you! That's why…"

Allen crossed his arms, watching the events unfold from a slight distance.

"I see…" Crowley said after a few moments of tense silence, looking up at her with a wild expression on his face as he bared his teeth. "I've always wanted to kill you as well!"

Looking from one to the other Allen concluded that these two obviously had taken the love-hate relationship to a whole new level.

"So it was the same then?" Eliade said, a deep sadness hidden beneath the coldness in her voice. "For the both of us?"

Crowley's eyes were glimmering dangerously. "Yes…"

_- _o0o -

Tilting his head against the train compartment's window, Allen spared one look at the landscape flashing by outside before he once again screwed his eyes shut. The morning sun stung terribly in them. Hearing the door open, he greeted his visitor without looking. "Tyki Mikk… For what reason do I owe the displeasure of your company yet again during this train ride?"

"Aw, don't be like that…" Tyki replied as he shut the door before dumping something onto the empty seat on the opposite side of him. "I brought you some snacks."

"I'm not hungry…" Allen hissed, sliding back into the lie-down position as he had been a couple of minutes previous. "As a matter of fact, I feel sick…"

Tyki raised an eyebrow. "Sick because of earlier, or sick because of me?"

"Both."

"I'll just go ahead and help myself then…" Tyki snickered as he seated himself on the other seat, picking up a sandwich of some sort. "Don't take it as an insult or anything, but at the moment you do look like crap. Have you been eating properly lately?"

"That depends on what is to be defined as 'eating properly'…" Allen muttered in response.

Tyki sighed. "Does that mean you haven't?"

A silver-grey eye opened for a bit. "Tyki, since when are you a substitute for the mother I never had?" he asked somewhat dryly.

"Alright then…" Tyki said, looking defeated. "I won't ask."

"Tyki…" Allen began.

"What?"

"Why are you on this train?" he asked.

Tyki tilted his head to the side. "I have a mission in India soon, a special mission which concerns the List. In short, you're with me on this one, so one could say that I came here to pick you up…"

"Oh God, no…"

"What was that? Aren't you looking forward to hunting down more people on the List?"

"Oh… I'm excited alright, especially at the prospect of running into Master again," Allen spat out, his voice dripping of sarcasm as he rolled onto his side. "Now get back to your hobo friends so that I can have some peace again…"

Tyki snickered and pulled off his top hat, which soon transformed into a pair of ugly-looking glasses. "You know me far too well…" he said, making his hair look messy. "I'll be going then."

The door was shut behind him and Allen sighed, opening his eyes again. _Those exorcists next-door really need to quiet down…_

_- _o0o -

"The guy had General Cross' golem with him…" Lavi said when they sat on the train heading further eastward. "There is no mistake."

Bookman's eyes narrowed. "An unknown accommodator of parasitic Innocence. Cross Marian's golem. A prophecy…"

Kanda looked up. "What prophecy?"

Bookman's expression turned grim. "The prophecy about the Destroyer of Time, supposedly the one who will be destroying the Millennium Earl..."

Lavi's stared at him, seemingly shocked. "Yu…" he said after a while, turning to Kanda. "If that guy really is destined to be the Destroyer of Time… Why the Hell is he working for the Earl?"

_- _o0o -

"How's the hangover?" Tyki immediately greeted as Allen entered into one of the less luxurious compartments of the train.

Allen – still nursing the aftermath of a possible concussion – scowled at him. "My hangover is fine, seeing to the fact that there was no hangover. But yes, in case you were wondering, I did help myself to a few painkillers along the way…"

Crowley, the person who was getting his arse kicked in poker by Tyki and his pals, turned around at the sound of his voice, eyes widening in recognition. "You…"

Allen fired off his most innocent smile in the count's general direction. "I see that we meet again, Count Aleister Crowley the Third… I see you are doing quite well, besides the fact that your mistress died unexpectedly last night and that you've lost a great amount of your remaining materialistic wealth in a game, as you sit before me in your underwear…"

Tyki raised an eyebrow. "Do you two know each other?"

Allen's innocent smile widened as he laid eyes on the continuing game. "As a matter of fact we do, and even if our so called relationship was merely one of the business kind, I must admit that Crowley helped me figure a few things out … so I might as well lend him a hand…"

Tyki's friends along with Crowley himself looked visibly confused as Allen gracefully joined their circle, issuing a challenge. "Let me join the game…"

Tyki snickered, accepting it. "Place your bets."

"Are you sure about this, Tyki?" one of his friends asked, giving Allen a suspicious glance.

"I happen to like challenges…" Tyki replied with a smirk. "So I really can't pass up this one now, can I?"

_- _o0o -

Allen could tell that Crowley was confused and even more so after he had, without much effort, won back Crowley's belonging along the belongings of Tyki and Tyki's friends. Nonetheless, Allen thought that he himself would probably have worn a similar expression if a person who had been labelled as a potential enemy suddenly appeared out of the blue and helped him win a game of poker. Not to even mention the fact that Allen had previously, in his grand escape from Crowley's castle, thrown himself out of a window from the second floor, fallen down a freaking cliff and disappeared into the woods before Crowley or the accompanying exorcists had really had much time to react or disapprove and all that without injuring himself further. He still had that terrible headache courtesy of a certain samurai though, but Allen had other stuff on his mind than revenge at the moment.

"Why did you help me?" Crowley asked as soon as they had left the compartment for another. "Aren't you a part of the enemy forces?"

"That depends on how you see it… and how you choose", Allen said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "I can either a friend or a foe, or both, but that depends solely on you and your actions."

At first, it had been little more than a game – a gamble if you like – when he had first talked to the soon-to-be exorcists. With Miranda, it hadn't really had much of a purpose when he did it, but later on he realised that kindness to the soon-to-be exorcists who weren't already indoctrinated by the Order might be able to sow the tiniest seed of doubt in their minds which could be essential in dealing the killing blow. And, in case he was ever betrayed by the Earl, it did certainly help if one had at least a few possible allies on the other side.

"Back there… we made a deal, did we not?" Allen continued and Crowley's eyes lit up in surprise. "I came around merely as an observer and it is not in my role to harm you, at least not at the moment… and since you, at least as far as I'm aware, isn't officially an exorcist yet, I believe that it is perfectly fine for us to converse like civilised people… Unless you mind it, of course?"

"Not at all…" Crowley mumbled after a few moments' worth of hesitance. "You say you are an observer, but who are you really?"

"I am no one…" Allen answered flatly. "Yet I am someone. I am one person, yet I am someone else as well. Two sides of the same coin if you like, a part of both sides yet of neither, a grey entity in a world of black and white… Quite frankly, at the moment, I am not completely sure about exactly who I am and what kind of role I'm supposed to play, but when I do, I am certain that you will be able to tell whether I am a friend or foe to you…"

With those mysterious words – virtual bullshit which he had made up on spot – he left the compartment, just in time to avoid the exorcists as they came looking for their newest addition. He met a Chinese girl at the door and shot off a charming smile in her direction. Hesitantly, she smiled back.

Lenalee Lee, the accommodator of the so called Black Boots. Orphaned. Her parents had been killed by akuma. Her only remaining family was her older brother Komui, the supervisor of the European Branch of the Black Order.

Once back in his own train compartment, Allen smirked. Intelligence was always useful and it was particularly useful in war. It helped with figuring out people's weak points.

With a sigh, he searched for another painkiller and once he had found one and downed it, he took a seat and proceeded to stare out the window to see whether or not there was anything interesting taking place outside. There wasn't.

Allen looked at the stuff Tyki had left him, spotting the cover of a thick and quite tattered book. He picked it up, and his eyebrows climbed high when he realised it was a copy of the Holy Bible, written in Latin. Lacking in his understanding of the language, he flipped through the book without much interest, pausing only when he spotted a few pictures – looking like childish drawings – appearing here and there in it. He briefly wondered whether Tyki was responsible for them. The thought of a young Tyki, much less an older one, doodling in the supposedly holy scripture made him snicker. If that indeed was the case, this information could definitely be used for some serious blackmail.

Resting his eyes on some of the scribbles, he tried to determine the people and the happenings they were supposed to illustrate. He guessed that the first ones had to be Adam and Eve and this whole Eden thing with the snake and the forbidden apple of knowledge or whatever it was. Seeing to the fact that he had lived on the streets or at the circus or following Cross around and later on the Earl, it was really no wonder he held little knowledge of and overall little interest or faith in God and the supposedly holy scriptures. The stories fascinated him nonetheless, as a few of them actually had a few good points to make if one just considered them carefully enough.

_God wished for the humans to stay ignorant,_ he noted._ He forbade them knowledge and when they attained it, he chased them out of his garden and proclaimed that all of their descendants, especially those of the female kind, would bear great sin, a sin which he supposedly sacrificed his own son for in order to liberate humanity, making them not too sinful but still very much in debt to a certain person by the name of Jesus… Now that's one Hell of a merciful and forgiving God. Or is it sinister and cunning? Or maybe I've just misunderstood everything…_

Allen tilted his head to the side. He could always ask Tyki, or Road or the Millennium Earl himself for that matter, but he had a feeling that they would have very similar answers, if any at all. _In the end…_

_- _o0o -

"_Maybe we are all just playthings of God or the Earl…"_

_- _o0o -


	7. The Fallen One

**(Edited 21/1-13)**

_- _o0o -

**The Fallen One**

_- _o0o -

"Boy!" Tyki called. "We're getting off now, so hurry up before I go and fetch you myself!"

About three seconds later, a very tired white-haired teen dressed in a long black coat stepped out, exiting the train and landing very ungracefully on the platform below. "I feel like shit…" Allen muttered, steadying himself as he got back to his feet, brushing some dust off of his clothes. "Remind me never to participate in a drinking game with you ever again."

Tyki laughed, offering the dissatisfied teen a hand which was courtly swatted away as the teen straightened up before he eyed the place out, getting accustomed to his new surroundings. "Do you like it?" Tyki asked with a smirk, earning himself a glare.

"Does it matter?" Allen asked shortly, still not over the fact that he had actually participated in a drinking game with Tyki of all people. Sure, he had technically won, but the only thing he actually managed to do was to award himself with a Hell of a hangover. After downing another round of pills, Allen swore that he would never ever do it again… unless the next drinking game involved ridiculously large amounts of money. Otherwise, he had a hard time seeing why it would be worth it, seeing that he didn't even like drinking in the first place. "Tyki, if I'm an alcoholic by the end of the month, I'm blaming you for it."

"It wasn't exactly like I forced you to participate or anything…" Tyki said, feigning innocence, not that the whole charade seemed very believable. "Besides, it wasn't like I actually drugged you or anything, as you seem perfectly capable of doing that on your own…"

"I'm gonna need a lot of sedatives if I want to avoid strangling you…" Allen growled.

Tyki raised an eyebrow. "If you wanted something to wear you out, why didn't you just say so?" he asked. "I know of a very good method…"

Allen didn't miss the rather seductive tone in the latter statement and neither did he appear miss the implied meaning of it as his cheeks flushed. He muttered something under his breath; it sounded like a curse in some foreign language. Then he looked up at Tyki with a very unfriendly expression. "Tyki, shut the Hell up or I'll add to my report that you've been harassing me."

Tyki pretended to look offended, but Allen could tell that he was snickering beneath it all. "My, my, _someone_'s cranky today…"

"_Someone_'s got a hangover."

"_Someone_'s been drinking on the job…" Tyki replied with a smirk.

"_Someone_ coaxed me into it!" Allen hissed. "You're bad influence!"

"I'm badass…" Tyki smirked. "I can't help it."

Allen continued cursing under his breath as they left the train station and moved into the more or less crowded city streets. Say whatever one wanted about India, but it certainly smelled. Some scents were actually pleasant, but others were downright horrible, making him want to retch. He didn't however, since that would be like showing weakness and that was one thing he certainly didn't need. After maybe an hour of walking, Allen asked the unavoidable question. "Where are we going?"

"We're going… out for a snack," Tyki replied. "Are you hungry?"

"I am hungry, but I'm also slightly nauseous and I don't think I'd be able to hold it down anyway. Besides, we're not here for sightseeing."

"We're not?"

Sightseeing or not, how the Hell they ended up visiting Taj Mahal was completely beyond him. On the other hand, perhaps that was for the best, since they just happened to run into three exorcists hunting for their General.

Chaker Rabon.

Kazana Reed.

They both died so easily for Tyki's hand. Sure, it wasn't like Allen just sat around and watched; he did participate in the killings, just not with his Innocence. He had developed quite a skill with throwing knives and was using these exorcists as target practice.

Suman Dark.

He was the one quivering a bit further away, pleading for his life. "Please… I don't want to die…"

Pathetic. How utterly pathetic.

Allen had just been about to put him out of his misery when Tyki had stopped him.

Suman Dark escaped the encounter with the Noah with his life, but only after selling out his own comrades and allowing his body to be used as a breeding ground for Tyki's Tease butterfly golems. He had betrayed the Innocence and Allen knew well that it was only a question of time before the other became a Fallen One, which was definitely not the most pleasant way to die. Allen made a mental note to try to avoid that fate at all costs.

Knowing the location of another group of exorcists, Tyki and Allen went hunting.

Sol Galen.

Tina Spark.

Gwen Frere.

Once again, Allen only knew their names because they were on the back of the silver buttons on their coats. It proved pretty satisfying to collect them; they were made out of silver after all. Tyki had already laid claim on all the golden ones, since he had promised to give them to Eez.

In three days, they had killed five exorcists and the sixth was on the road to destruction even without any interference at all. Still, his Innocence would have to be recovered later, which could be a bit troublesome. Still, the Earl sent his regards and compliments on their achievements, telling them they could take a few days off before heading towards Shanghai. They got to Shanghai anyway, only to find that the prime target, namely Cross, had already left a couple of days prior. Seeing no real reason to rush, they went gambling.

_- _o0o -

They had been in Shanghai for almost a week before they were notified that Suman Dark had indeed become a Fallen One. They were informed by Lulubell, who also saw it fit to inform them that a couple of exorcists had been sighted in Shanghai. On this point however, the Earl's orders were very clear, telling them to stay clear of them until further notice, saying something about a trap laid in Edo.

Absentmindedly, Allen let his gaze wander across the room before settling on the cards he had on hand; he had Full House and he wasn't even cheating, not yet, at least. But, seeing that his opponents were all crooks in one way or another it wasn't like it mattered anyway; they all assumed somebody had to be cheating anyway. Hell, Allen was even willing to bet money on that he was up against at least two cardsharps. But the bets had already been placed, Allen having betted a couple of the silver buttons he had acquired relatively recently.

They were pure silver, fine silver, probably worth quite a decent sum of money to some. The other players wanted to obtain them, but Allen wanted to keep them, saving them for memory and for later, when he would use them in an attempt to deal a significant blow to the fighting morale of the comrades of the people they used to belong to. Yes… It sounded like a great plan. A little evil perhaps, but still well thought out.

Sol Galen. Tina Spark.

Allen lost that game, but he didn't care much about it seeing that putting his efforts into winning every single round would put an end to his fun quite prematurely, seeing that no one would agree to play with him then. Still, even if he had lost two, he still had three more silver buttons anyway and one more if they managed to get Suman's, seeing that, their instructions were only to leave the Cross team alone and said nothing for the wayward exorcist headed right for his own doom.

Timcanpy was getting restless, way more restless than he had been a few days previously. Allen blatantly assumed that it was because they were closing in on Cross' location. It would not be a very pleasant reunion, but if Allen got his way then it would be their last.

He made his way out of the bar, looking around for a possible ambush; after all, it wasn't like people would be leaving him alone if they learned that he carried around a decent amount of silver in his pockets. Ah, the greed of humankind. It never ceased to amaze him.

Allen knew well what greed could do to people, but even so he knew he too was greedy. Greed came with being a human, as an opposing force to things like kindness and generosity. On the other hand, speaking of generosity…

Tyki Mikk was, for once, nowhere to be seen, namely since he was at the moment… occupied… with charming a load of prostitutes. Just for information of course, even though Allen suspected it was merely an excuse as Tyki did not have anything against drinking copious amounts of alcohol and flirting with people; in this particular aspect, he and Cross were frighteningly similar. To Allen, when it came either to be harassed by prostitutes wanting to cuddle with the "cute little boy" or gambling with crooks at some local bar, it was not a very difficult decision for him to decide on the latter. Besides, seeing that he hadn't even made a serious effort to win, losing meant nothing more than a change of pace and also a change of scenery as he finally exited the bar and looked up, finally paying attention to the fact that he couldn't hear Timcanpy anymore. Said golem was just about to be devoured by what looked like an awfully well-fed stray cat. Another great way to start the day as it seemed. Seeing that Timcanpy had the ability to locate his elusive drunkard of an ex-Master, Allen assumed that he didn't have any other choice than to hunt down the cat and retrieve his golden companion before the cat swallowed it whole. After all, in such a case he would probably have to kill the cat, which would be a pity, seeing that he easily took a shine to felines in general.

Lulubell counted as a rare exception to this, as Allen doubted that cat woman would ever be capable of showing affection towards anyone but the Millennium Earl. Hell, if Lulubell started purring when Allen was around, he would have to be seriously concerned for her health. After all, when it came to the Noah Family, one certainly had reasons to harbour concerns of the "Please-let-me-know-what-makes-you-snap-so-I-won't-do-a-mistake-and-end-up-getting-killed-because-of-it" type. Come to think of it, maybe Allen himself wasn't all too mentally stable himself. Oh well, blame it on the genes, blame it on the genes…

Regardless, he had to get back to this whole catching the cat thing, before the annoying little pest got too much ahead of him.

_- _o0o -

Silver buttons fell to the floor as their new owner, a bit drunk, was backed up against the wall at sword point. "Where did you get them?" the black-coated youth hissed, clearly meaning business.

Silver was valuable in itself, but certainly not valuable enough to get die for. "A-a white-haired kid with a red scar! Take them!" he shouted, kicking the silver further away. "Leave me alone!"

Dark eyes narrowed, but the sword tip was slowly withdrawn as another of the strangers – a redhead with an eye patch – started picking up the silver from the ground, looking at something. When he looked up he was wearing a very serious expression before speaking up. "Sol Galen. Tina Spark. Both have been reported missing for about a week along with their teammate Gwen Frere."

Gasps were heard. "Does that mean…?" the last part remained unsaid, but the one with the sword simply said what everyone else was thinking.

"Isn't that obvious?" he spat. "They're dead, just like the other missing exorcists are presumed to be."

_He's here. In this time, at this place, He is here…_

_- _o0o -

Suman Dark fell from grace earlier than expected, in Allen's own opinion at least, as the white-haired teen was relayed with a special assignment which temporarily put a stop to the headhunting he and Tyki had been busy with lately.

Hearing this, Tyki had merely shrugged, looking somewhat disappointed; Allen himself hadn't been all that happy about how things turned out either, since it had delayed his plans of hunting down his former master and killing him, but in the end, he supposed he couldn't have everything in life.

Now, what was with this new mission? Not only was it extremely dangerous, but the rate of success was also very – very – low. Allen just didn't get the Earl sometimes; why did he seem to want to risk everything they had accomplished so far just to go through with this sort of reckless mission? Surely, if the mission succeeded against all odds, then Allen supposed it could be seen as a brilliant albeit risky move. And sure, Allen was pretty certain that he was the only one capable of pulling through, even though it didn't actually please him to know that. Besides, if Allen didn't succeed, it wasn't like the Earl had actually lost anything other than a potential future enemy. Regardless, Allen didn't feel up to failing on purpose; it just wasn't an option as it was a total opposite of everything he had been working towards lately.

Allen sighed heavily as he stood on top of a tall tree, looking out at the vast landscape while taking mental notes as Timcanpy flew around him in the light breeze. His clothes were quite bloody and had been partially dirty, at least before he fell right into a freaking lake after retrieving the Fallen One's Innocence, battling a strange thing looking sort of like a body without arms, legs and head in the process. Man, whatever that thing had been, it was going to give him nightmares for quite some time. Allen found himself wondering exactly what this God meant by making Fallen Ones look like that. Allen also found himself wondering why God still hadn't caused him to become a Fallen One, but then again, one could only assume that there even was a God in the first place.

Regardless, after crawling out of a lake while looking like a drenched kitten, he had surrendered the Innocence to Tyki who had held onto it while they waited for the beginning of phase two.

Now came the rather tricky part.

_- _o0o -

The wind rustled the leaves of the bamboo forest which surrounded them. They stood there, facing each other with a couple of metres of distance. Summoning his Innocence and shifting his position, Allen spared a short look in Timcanpy's direction; Timcanpy was going to record everything from that moment and onwards, so Allen knew well that his performance had to be perfect. _As long as Tyki doesn't screw up…_

Allen narrowed his eyes, taking stance as Tyki stood a bit further away, smoking a cigarette with a quite mirthful expression on his face. "Well, well, Boy…" the Noah of Pleasure said. "I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here…"

Allen snorted, keeping his eyes trained on his opponent. "You probably thought you had killed me back in India," he hissed. "Where's the Fallen One's Innocence?"

Tyki's smirk grew wider and he pulled said item out of his pocket. "Do you possibly mean this one?" he asked, still smirking. "Honestly kid, what's up with you and your obsession of getting in our way?"

"I swore that I would stop you!" Allen hissed, his muscles tensing before he dashed off, taking his opponent on in an extremely risky frontal assault, knowing well that the other would not go easy on him even under circumstances like these. "I will find the Heart before you do!"

Tyki blocked his strike with ease, snickering as he did, letting go of the Fallen One's Innocence. It fell to the leaf-covered ground with a light thud as he grabbed onto a fistful of white hair. "You're so bothersome now that you've regained your own will, Doll," Tyki snickered, before his expression became very sinister. "Road asked me to recapture you if possible, but at this rate bringing your corpse along might be acceptable as well, don't you think?"

Allen clawed after him, but as Tyki was about to strike back the white-haired teen abruptly withdrew by jumping backwards, the cloak of his Innocence billowing around him. The smirk returned with full force onto the Noah's face. "You're getting awfully wary all of a sudden; did something bad happen to you, Boy?" Tyki asked, his tone mocking.

"I know very well what those hands are capable of!" Allen hissed, tensing up. "I know exactly what that ability of yours can do!"

Tyki snickered, summoning a Tease into his hand. Allen's eyes widened slightly, feigning surprise or shock, even though he was silently calculating his next move on the inside, keeping his cool. He took a deep breath before he launched another frontal assault, barely avoiding a bolt of Dark Matter fired at him. Engaging in close combat with Tyki was far from Allen's preferred technique; however it had been deemed necessary in this situation, as Allen knew that in order to make the fight look more believable, blood would have to be spilled; his blood. He swallowed involuntarily; this fight wasn't one of life and death, but it really wasn't just sparring either and his Innocence cloak closed in on him, closing in around him protectively as if sensing the oncoming danger.

"I really shouldn't let you live with that knowledge, Boy," Tyki said in an almost seductive manner as he leaned in close while they were locked in what looked like mortal combat. "But I like you, so I might let you live if you answer me this one question…"

Allen grimaced slightly with the strain, on his Innocence and on his body alike. Gritting his teeth, he narrowly avoided another strike before he sent a well-aimed kick in direction of Tyki's abdomen, which got blocked. His ankle was grabbed, and knowing well what was about to happen, the white-haired teen aimed a strike at Tyki's chest area instead, only to be hit in the shoulder by an attack from the rear by one of Tyki's butterflies. Allen's eyes widened in surprise and he gasped in pain, freezing briefly in his position, which was enough for Tyki to grab a hold of his hand with a triumphant grin on his lips. The white-haired teen had barely registered what was happening before a surge of destructive energy shot through his Innocence, causing Allen to scream and, with a surprising amount of force, pull back before he jumped to the side, landing a few metres further away, breathing heavily.

The pain was absolutely agonizing and he didn't even have to look at his Innocence arm to know that he had been dealt some serious amount of damage. Cracks had already started appearing on arm, and Allen suspected that he could have internal bleeding as well. His mask fell over his face again and his body moved, as if by itself, while the white cloak moved around him. Another surge of pain ran through him as light erupted from the cross in his hand before it surrounded his entire being. Seeing this, Tyki blinked with surprise before his face resumed his sinister, albeit slightly amused, expression as he pulled out the card with the Cell Roron.

"So sturdy," Tyki commented, picking his top hat off the ground while flipping the card to the other side. "Boy… Would your real name care to be… Allen Walker, perhaps?"

The ethereal glow surrounding his Innocence dulled slightly and Allen gave him a very unfriendly glare while the wind ruffled his hair. "So what if I am?"

Tyki snickered, letting go of the card as it began hovering in the air. "In such case, it's a real pity; I'll have to kill you then… Boy," he said, pausing briefly. "I did enjoy playing poker last time though, I really did…" he continued, sounding somewhat disappointed.

Allen found himself wondering if Tyki was just acting or if he was serious. In case he was serious, Allen had a distinct feeling he would be in an even greater need of painkillers very soon. _Yup_, he thought while studying Tyki's sinister facial expression. _I'll definitely be in a lot of pain after this… unless he 'accidentally' kills me of course…_

Using his sleeve to wipe away some blood from his mouth, Allen really couldn't help but sneer at it all before once again resuming his position, even with his shoulder bleeding and hurting like Hell and his Innocence – clearly damaged – sending waves of intense pain throughout his entire body. "I won't go down that easily you know," he snorted. "Not without a fight…" – He dashed off, throwing himself onto the ground while narrowly avoiding an attack from Tyki's butterflies, sweeping up the Fallen One's Innocence from the ground in the process, throwing it in Timcanpy's direction. "Tim, catch!"

Timcanpy – for once following his orders – opened its mouth and swallowed the Innocence with ease before dashing off, hunted by a whole swarm of butterfly golems.

Now only Tyki Mikk and Allen Walker remained, in company of one of the bigger Tease. Tyki lit another cigarette. "Was that really wise, Boy?" he asked.

Allen took a deep breath and deactivated his Innocence before he walked up towards him, stopping when they were merely half a metre away from each other while Tyki summoned the butterfly back to him, giving the white-haired teen a rather sympathetic look. "Are you ready to 'die', Boy?" he asked.

Allen gave the Tease sitting on top of Tyki's palm a slightly disgusted look. "How could I ever be ready for something like this?" he sighed. "This is going to hurt badly, isn't it?"

"It will, but this has to be convincing, right?" Tyki responded, shrugging mildly. "Besides, seeing to the fact you're carrying Noah Memories within you it isn't like you're likely to die or anything…"

Allen snorted. "Just for the record… Tyki, if I die because of this, I'm definitely haunting you and I promise it won't be pleasant, not pleasant at all… Now get it the Hell over with before I'll do something we'll both regret."

"In such case, I must ask you to stand very very still…" Tyki said, holding onto the Tease; its teeth were clattering.

"…Says the guy who's just about to use a cannibalistic butterfly to plunge a hole into my heart," Allen snorted, standing still even if he felt this sudden urge to hit somebody.

"I am such a heartbreaker," Tyki said, shoving the Tease inside him.

Allen opened his mouth, spitting blood at him. Tyki pulled out the Tease, looking at his bloodied glove with surprised after having wiped his face with it. Then he gave Allen a rather surprised look. "You got my gloves dirty," he commented as the Tease retreated back into his body. "I guess it does hurt pretty badly then…"

Allen's only reply was to throw a weak punch at him, one which Tyki easily evaded, catching his wrist before bringing Allen's hand up to his mouth and kissing it. "It was a real pleasure dancing with you tonight, White Devil…" he whispered before letting go of the white-haired teen's hand as said teen began his descent to the ground.

_- _o0o -


	8. The Battle at Sea

**(Edited 21/1-13)**

_- _o0o -

**The Battle at Sea**

_- _o0o -

Bak Chan, the leader of the Asian Branch of the Black Order, frowned as he watched the image displayed on the monitors.

The white-haired teen whose condition was being monitored was still showed no signs of waking up. He had been that way for almost a week, for entirely understandable reasons, and if anything then the boy in question should have been dead rather than just almost comatose from that kind of injuries. Many things were still unclear, mostly because the only person who could possibly shed light on things was seemingly dead to the world, but one thing was quite clear; a part of his Innocence had somehow entered the other's body in order to repair the Noah-inflicted hole in his heart, saving his life while still retaining a corporeal shape. If anything, it should be regarded as a miracle.

Staring at the monitors, Bak made an idle note in his papers about the red scar on the young accommodator's face; it had been bleeding a lot lately for reasons unknown. The inverted pentagram right above his left brow was completely covered up by the bandages wound around his head; Bak could only hope the kid didn't have brain damage.

Sighing, he was just about to turn away and return to work when he thought he saw something. He decided to keep watching and soon enough his efforts were rewarded.

The kid had opened his eyes, looking around with a somewhat dazed and disoriented expression on his face.

_- _o0o -

By the time Bak Chan had entered the room, Allen Walker was already starting to flex with his fingers, grimacing in pain as he did so. He looked up at the blond man, but there was no real surprise in his eyes. "If this is Heaven, I want a refund," he said in a strangely cheerful albeit hoarse whisper. "Where am I?"

A bleak smile adorned his lips for a moment before it transformed into a grimace of pain as he tried sitting up, only to be pushed down in a gentle manner by Wong Han, who scolded him for his recklessness.

"This is the Asian Branch of the Black Order," Bak said, raising an eyebrow. "I am Bak Chan and the leader of it."

The young accommodator still didn't look all too surprised as he tilted his head to the side. "I know that look," he then said, his voice still a bit hoarse but way better than a few moments prior. "It's the look of a person who has a lot of questions to ask…" – His silver-grey eyes wandered off to one side – "I would however appreciate a glass of water and another round of painkillers before I start answering anything…" – His eyes wandered off to the other side – "…Unless it would be too much to ask for…"

_- _o0o -

Sipping on a glass of water after having downed a great amount of painkillers, Allen – having managed the feat of sitting up all on his own – finally looked up at Bak Chan and his attendant with a quite serious look on his face. "So… Where's Timcanpy?"

The pair exchanged a look before looking back at him. "Timcanpy?"

Allen made an attempt at shaking his head but he regretted it immediately as it brought back his headache to its full scale. "The golem," he breathed out, cradling his head in his hands, forgetting all about his attempts not to look too pathetic. "He's the reason you found me, right?"

"You should consider yourself very lucky," Bak said instead, not answering his initial question. "If we hadn't found you when we did, you would've bled to death within minutes."

Allen looked up from his hands, flashing a bright smile at him even though it hurt like Hell. "I guess I really am sturdier than I look," he said, still smiling. "But I do admit that this definitely makes the top three of my most miserable experiences… so far."

Bak was staring at him. Wong was staring at him. The semi-humanoid girl with orange hair and clothes which were virtually indescribable who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere looked almost pissed off. Either way, there was a slight chance that at least one of them had started doubting his sanity a little, if not a lot.

Massaging his temples with his still aching fingertips, Allen started muttering under his breath. "I guess it hit me harder than I thought… it should be considered as somewhat of a miracle that I didn't get amnesia…"

Then he looked up, giving Bak an odd look not unlike the one said individual was giving him. "Shouldn't we continue with the interroga-… sorry, the questions now," Allen said, leaning back into the bed. "I want to get back into my little world of sweet oblivion as soon as I can. I will be back around the time I can move about without feeling like I'm about to pass out."

Clearing his throat, Bak spoke up while adjusting the beret on top of his head. "Are you Allen Walker?"

"Yes. Now it's my turn," Allen said, tilting his head to one side. "Where's Tim?"

"I'll have Wong fetch him for you," Bak responded, leaning closer. "Why do you need him?"

Allen blinked, seemingly surprised; he wasn't, but pretended to be. "What? He's my master's," he responded with a small shrug while trying not to agitate his wounds too much. "He would kill me if he found out I lost him."

"And who is this master of yours?" Bak asked, already putting the pieces together. "On second thought, don't tell me; it's Cross Marian, right?"

Bingo.

"It's correct," Allen answered, nodding. "We got separated a few months ago in India though, so I'm tracking him down at the moment to make sure he doesn't slack off… which he will be doing anyway…"

To emphasize his point he heaved a deep sigh near the end, his dejection of the whole thing making the lie even more believable. It was only partially a lie anyway, since Allen was really looking for his master, even though he was as a matter of fact working for said man's enemy and was out to kill him if such an opportunity had the decency to arrive before him.

Allen took a few moments to study his audience to see their reaction and by the looks of it they were probably buying pretty much all of it, or at least three fourths of it. Now he just had to make sure his real objectives weren't revealed before he had managed to accomplish his mission flawlessl…

"Branch Leader Bak!" a random guy running in the pathway outside the room shouted. "The Cross team has arrived!"

Allen inwardly slapped himself in the face when he heard that. _Why can't these things ever be easy?_

_- _o0o -

Somehow, the exorcist team in charge of hunting down Cross Marian – consisting of Kanda Yu, Lenalee Lee, Lavi, Bookman, Crowley and now Anita and her crew – had managed to get their boat wrecked by some Level-Two. Hence, while the repairs took place, the exorcists themselves took shelter in the Asian Branch, where they met up with Miranda Lotto, who had been sent from Headquarters to help them out. As things turned out, they got to meet someone else as well, in the shape of one elusive phantom that didn't look all too happy to see them, even after Kanda had stopped yelling at him.

_- _o0o -

His ears still ringing from being subjected to that abominable noise, Allen – with his hands close to his ears as he was prepared to cover them again should the need arise – turned to Bak Chan. The latter seemed uncertain as to whether he should be happy – his quite obvious crush and/or obsession Lenalee Lee was there after all – or annoyed. Either way, the man was breaking out in hives big time.

"Now do you see why I didn't try to reason with these people," Allen said, making a small gesture towards the crowd assembled in the room. "I would've been skewered before even finishing pleading my case."

Most of them looked fairly understanding at this, except Kanda who let out a sound which very much resembled a growl. Allen narrowed his eyes at this.

"After all, it's a goddamn freaking miracle these lunatics haven't managed to kill me off yet," he continued, sounding way more upset than he actually was. "I believe it was only last time that I almost burned alive by that guy." – He pointed accusingly at Lavi, who scratched his head, looking embarrassed – "Only to nearly have my head smashed in, courtesy of that sword-wielding idiot." – He pointed at Kanda, who looked just about ready to either try it a second time or to just strangle him for the sake of variation.

Bak – obviously sensing the danger in one way or another – looked at Fou, who seemed somewhat amused by the whole thing. Lenalee and Crowley looked confused while Miranda appeared to be trembling a bit; not that it was such an unusual thing for her. Then Allen looked up at them, finally acknowledging their presence. "We meet again or so it appears," Allen said, an innocent smile appearing on his lips. "How was your day?"

"Tiresome," Crowley answered after a few seconds. "How was yours?"

Allen shrugged, probably looking about as worn-out as he felt. "I have just regained consciousness after having spent a week or so in a coma due to having a bloody hole plunged into my heart and I'm being harassed by questions from like five or so virtual strangers," Allen said, tilting his head to the side with the smile still apparent on his face. "The usual."

Lavi – having looked from one to the other during this brief exchange of words – spoke up. "You two seem awfully familiar with each other."

Allen had to make a serious effort not to roll his eyes. "No shit, Sherlock," he then said, tilting his head to the other side. "I was just hanging out inside his castle because I was sort of lost… Okay, so maybe I wasn't but my master…"

Calling that despicable man his master really made him feel somewhat ill; thank God he had been smart enough to join the opposing party while he had still been able to.

"W-wait a minute," Lavi said, holding his hands up. "What master? The Earl?"

"The Earl? Are you nuts?" Allen said, giving him an incredulous look and gaining several confused ones in return. "Nope, just an everyday womanizing debt-making drunkard."

"Cross Marian," Bak clarified, stepping in since the whole explanation thing had been taking too long. "Walker here happens to be his apprentice with a parasitic Innocence…"

"Crowned Clown," Allen added with a smile.

"…Who has been doing a great deal of undercover work lately concerning the Noah family…"

"Nearly killed me."

"…In order to aid his Master with his top-secret mission in Japan."

"Yup," Allen affirmed. "That's about it."

There was a brief silence before protests were heard.

"And that thing back in Germany?" Kanda asked, still not sounding the least convinced.

Allen bit his lip, chewing on it for a bit with a somewhat troubled expression before he answered. "I screwed up once and got captured," he finally admitted. "It was very educational though, but I don't think I'm going to let it happen again."

The black-haired samurai stared at him, eyes narrowing.

Crowley opened his mouth, looking like he was about to say or ask something, but then he closed it again.

"It's true," Miranda said, finally having gathered enough courage to speak up. "He told me he had an obligation of some kind or a mission of some sort to carry out when he left…"

The others in the group stared at her. Allen on the other hand, shone at her, more because of her unknowingly backing up his cover story than because of her remembering. "You have a good memory," he commented. "I am currently assisting my master with his mission which I can't tell you about for quite obvious reasons."

"What sort of reasons?" Lenalee asked, speaking up for the first time.

Allen shot her a disbelieving look; was she retarded or something? "When a mission is labelled a top-secret one, you don't normally tell people you've only just started talking to all about it. Hell, even I don't know all the details of it."

Bookman appeared to be giving him a somewhat thoughtful look, but it took a few more seconds before he was addressed with a question, this time around from the aforementioned man's apprentice. "You wouldn't happen to be the elusive Critical Point-Breaker, would you?"

Allen's frown deepened and he tilted his head to the side. "What's a Critical Point-Breaker?"

Either way, Allen had a feeling he was in for this great deal of trouble. By the looks of it, he wouldn't be wreaking havoc in the Asian Branch after all and would likely be dragged off with these bloody exorcists even though it was glaringly obvious that quite a few of them – among them Kanda – were not likely to have believed a single word which had made its way out of his mouth.

Allen had to try his best not to show his disappointment about not being able to wreak havoc as planned. Still, using his former master as a cover-up story had been a great move, since only a few people would be able to know for sure whether he was telling the truth or not, one of them being the man in question, who Allen was intending to kill as soon as he got the chance to do so anyway.

Taking a deep breath, Allen surveyed his surroundings once more and the people in it; they weren't staring as much as earlier and some of their postures seemed more relaxed than before. A few of them remained unbelievable tense however, as though they were ready to attack him in case he made any false move whatsoever. _This… is going to take a lot of work._

_- _o0o -

Looking over the railing at the sea around them, stretching seemingly from one horizon to the other, Allen couldn't help but feel somewhat sickened. He had never been a fan of large bodies of water and he favoured even less to be stuck on a ship with a couple of people who were very suspicious of him, quite a few who apparently hated him and far too many who were far too curious and just wouldn't leave him alone. Really, the sea sickness was nothing compared to how blatantly ill he felt just by being around these people, around the girl named Lenalee Lee in particular. Just thinking about the pigtailed girl caused him to shudder lightly; as it appeared, she was one of the people he could barely stand, one of the dreaded "Leave-my-friends-alone-or-I'll-cry" people, constantly going on and on about the importance of friendship and all it was worth. Didn't she get the fact that they were in a freaking war and that people were going to get hurt and ultimately die, that she was being used a mere tool by the Black Order and such and would ultimately be discarded once she had outlived her relative usefulness and that Allen would freaking push her off the railing if she didn't shut the Hell up. At least at first she had been decently shy and careful around him, but now…

Allen shook his head, silently wishing he would be anywhere but in the place he currently resided, on a ship on the sea somewhere in-between China and Japan. Maybe if he used the Ark… opened an entrance in the middle of the sea and jumped into it…

No, he had a mission… some sort of mission. Things were pretty vague after all and Allen presumed that he might as well be of some sort of use as a spy before returning to base. Besides, his body still hadn't recovered fully from the onslaught of Tyki Mikk – Allen still needed to extract revenge for that – and he still had his left arm in a sling. However, the latter was more of a strategic move since most of the exorcists lowered their guard around him when he had his arm like that. They were severely underestimating him, no doubt, but unfortunately for Allen not everyone in the party was naïve enough to buy it, and Kanda Yu was among them; Kanda Yu and that person called Bookman.

As for the Bookman's apprentice Lavi, Allen wasn't all too sure. After all, pretending to be a smiling idiot wasn't even a new concept to Allen, so of course he didn't buy the overly friendly façade, the nearly constant grinning and joking and poking and prodding and messing around part of the other's behaviour; it was all role-play, tuning into a carefree and mischievous persona. Allen once caught him attempting to doodle on his face while he was taking a nap, and he nearly throttled the guy with a nearby pillow by mere reflex.

Sure, Allen had plenty of experience with more or less sinister pranks, courtesy of the Jasdero and Devitto, but those guys were pretty much family and at the moment he had no patience whatsoever to deal with pranks of any kind. Hell, if it actually came down to it, Allen was seriously contemplating as to whether he should start lining up the exorcists at the railing and start pushing them overboard when they least expected it, but on the other hand that Lavi guy had his hammer and that Lenalee had her Dark Boots… or whatever they were called.

Where was Tyki the Innocence Destroyer when Allen actually needed him? Hell, land a Noah on the ship and it would be a freaking massacre…

A soft breeze ruffled his hair as he continued looking beyond, seemingly lost in thought. Then, a somewhat heavy hand landed on his shoulder and he startled, using all his self-restraint not to go into either defence or attack mode. Said hand belonged to an exceptionally sour-looking exorcist by the name of Kanda Yu, the same sour-looking exorcist who had seemingly taken on the role of his keeper/guard dog, almost constantly watching him as if to make sure he didn't even breathe suspiciously. Hell, Allen was quite sure the guy was actually watching him sleep as well and to be completely honest, it was not only starting to creep him out as it had been creeping him out for quite some time. Staring at someone who was sleeping was more of a thing Tyki favoured, but waking up with an involuntary close-up of said Noah's face was only halfway as creepy as this. Besides, Allen was quite used to Tyki's little quirks; this Kanda person on the other hand was a whole new element in his immediate surroundings.

Come to think of it, he and Kanda had met like… three times or something like that. Once at Martel, once in Germany, once in Romania… Right, so make that four if one counted the unintended meeting in China, the very same encounter which messed up his intended mission of wreaking havoc in the Asian Branch of the Black Order.

Thinking of the Asian Branch, Allen actually considered that Bak Chan a quite decent guy, not asking too many questions and being more worried about his health than about the validity of his rather questionable answers. Allen wasn't all too sure about how the other people were, but in case he ever had to return there – however unlikely that was – he seriously wished they were less noisy than these people.

"Hey," a gruff voice spoke as the hand on his shoulder shook him lightly in an attempt to catch his attention. "Hey, _Moyashi_."

Allen's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly; he didn't know enough Japanese to know what "_moyashi_" meant, but he still knew an insult when he encountered one. Still, he chose to ignore it – along with the samurai uttering it while he was at it – and continued staring at the horizon. Apparently, said raven-haired samurai did not appreciate being ignored. Allen fully realised that when he was abruptly gripped from behind by his shoulders – which bloody hurt – and a well-directed kick from the side soon enough robbed him of his footing as Kanda placed one arm beneath his knees and swiftly scooped him up with disturbing ease.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?" Allen hissed, still in his quite undignified position in the raven-haired man's arms. "Let me go!" He stressed every single word in that sentence, but judging from the stone-faced look of the one carrying him his words didn't have their intended effect. No effect at all actually. Allen then resorted back to his other method of persuasion, violence in the form of hitting and thrashing around on a feeble attempt to make his escape. Once again, he had no success.

"Keep doing that and you'll reopen your injuries," Kanda growled as he somehow pried the door open without even using his hands.

It was dark inside and surprisingly empty; Allen had pretty much expected to be faced with at least two exorcists and a lot of noise, but surprisingly enough there was no one inside and while it did make him feel relieved it did also do the opposite when it finally dawned upon him that he had been brought inside this room by no other person than Kanda himself whom he now was more or less completely alone with. Racing through his mind were the possible and also the impossible reasons as to why he had been brought there. A surprising realisation dawned upon him and his struggling came to an immediate stop as his eyes widened slightly. _Don't tell me he's gonna kill me here by suffocation and then throw me overboard and claim it was an accident…_

Licking his lips as they were surprisingly dry, Allen spoke up in a soft and uncertain voice. "Where are the others?"

Kanda didn't reply as he stepped forward and placed him down on a sofa nearby with surprising gentleness, contrasting to the somewhat rough treatment he had been subjected to earlier. "They're beneath the deck," Kanda finally responded after a few moments of silence before he crouched down before him and held his hand out and uttered a sudden command. "Hand."

Allen just sat there, staring at the raven-haired man himself but mostly at the hand extended towards him, wondering what the Hell he was supposed to do with it. Unable to figure things out on his own he looked questioningly at Kanda, as if asking for guidance. "Give me your hand," Kanda clarified, his frown deepening somewhat.

"What for?"

"I need to have a look at it."

Filled with severe doubts, a quite healthy amount of suspicion and a great deal of hesitation, Allen slowly freed his left arm from the sling and placed his hand into the older teen's, seemingly ready to retract it at any time. Kanda wasn't a Noah so he didn't have the ability destroy Innocence, but Allen took no chances. He didn't have the time to react though when Kanda grabbed it with his keen reflexes and held it in a very firm but not too hurtful grip while examining it more closely. "Has it always been like this?" the raven-haired man asked, fingertips trailing across blackened skin. The touch felt somewhat cool and certainly a bit uncomfortable.

"Pretty much," Allen responded, a bit unsure as to where things appeared to be going. "It used to be red before I became a… what was it called again? Critical Point-Breaker?"

Kanda looked at him shortly before returning his attention to Allen's arm, moving his fingertips towards the wrist. Allen shuddered at the quite uncomfortable sensation it brought; he wanted his hand back, but Kanda still held onto it in a vicelike grip. "Can you feel this?" the other asked.

"Of course I can feel it!" Allen spat, yanking at his arm. "Now let go."

Kanda made no move to indicate that he intended to obey that command as he continued prodding. "Can you feel this then?" he went on to ask, driving his thumb down with a sudden act of force.

Allen bit back a scream, but the pressure eased almost immediately and Kanda finally complied with his command and released his hand and Allen snatched it back immediately, cradling it protectively against his chest while curling up. "What did you do that for?" Allen hissed, his voice still thick with pain.

Kanda got up from his crouched position, walked up to the table and lit one of the candles standing on it before he started rummaging through one of the suitcases on the floor. Soon enough, he appeared to have found what he was looking for as he returned with a few new bandages along with two thin braces. "There are some fractures on the bones in your wrist and forearm," he said, reclaiming possession of the younger teen's limb. "Have you broken anything there before?"

Allen just stared at him in silence, seeing to the fact that the answer was quite obvious.

"The nerves in your arm appear to be paralysed in several places," Kanda continued as he started on his work. "Is that because of the Innocence?"

Allen merely gave him a light shrug. Come to think of it, he had never really paid much attention to such small things as the fact that he rarely felt much pain in his left arm, as if the Innocence itself was somehow blocking the signals from the nerves that would otherwise be telling his brain about the fact that he had a broken wrist and should be in pain because of it.

A sudden and oddly severe headache suddenly assaulted his brain. Allen squeezed his eyes shut, part of him wondering what the Hell was going on while another part of him vaguely registered Kanda's face before everything went black.

_- _o0o -

Lavi scratched his head with a somewhat troubled look on his face before turning to Kanda, who was standing next to him with his arms folded while seemingly glaring holes into a nearby wall. Of course, Lavi knew very well that he would have to ask the question sometime, since as it appeared the raven-haired samurai had quite a thing or two to explain as to 1) why he had been spending time alone with Allen Walker, the newest addition to their force and 2) why said white-haired fifteen-year-old had just collapsed with a bleeding forehead. Lavi took a deep breath, gathering himself for the task, but surprisingly enough Kanda answered him even before a single word had left his lips.

"We were talking and then he started screaming all of a sudden before blacking out," Kanda said in a rather disinterested manner. "I don't know what caused it."

"Yu, he was freaking bleeding," Lavi countered, giving him a quite disbelieving look. "Just talking doesn't make people bleed, at least not normally."

"I didn't do anything!" Kanda hissed, eyes narrowing.

Lavi raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised with the fact Kanda hadn't reacted to the use of his given name. Something just had to be up, definitely. He stopped scratching his head in favour of putting his hands behind his neck, leaning backwards as he looked up at the night sky above. "I'm sure the Old Man will get him fixed up in no time," he said, grinning. "But one just has to admit one thing… you really wrecked the party."

Kanda snorted.

Bookman chose the moment to emerge from the cabin, putting his hands back in his sleeves in his usual manner before looking up at them with a pretty much unreadable look on his face.

"So," Lavi spoke up, his grin dimming just a bit. "What's the verdict?"

"I cannot say for certain," Bookman responded. "Has anything similar to this ever happened before?"

Kanda and Lavi exchanged a look, both of them thinking about that incident in Romania. Bookman's eyes narrowed slightly. "If it has…" he said, drawing upon the words. "Then it is likely to be an effect of the curse scar itself. Is it true that he can see the souls of akuma with that left eye of his?"

"It's true," Lavi replied, shuddering at the memory of it. "We saw it too, but only for a moment or so. It was somewhat like a preview of Hell, I think."

"He sees that scenery each time he fights with an akuma, doesn't he?" Kanda suddenly spoke up with a somewhat odd look on his face.

"Apparently he does," Bookman replied. "And from what I've gathered, he might have some serious damage to his nervous system…"

Kanda stood in silence for a brief moment before he spoke up. "I suspect that his wrist and forearm are broken in at least three places," he said. "And he didn't even seem to have noticed before I set some of his bones right, so it's possible that his Innocence has blocked the nerve signals from reaching his brain."

Lavi startled slightly, giving Kanda a slightly disbelieving look. "I thought you only 'talked' with him, Yu."

This time on the other hand, Kanda did in fact react to the unauthorised use of his given name and did so by whacking him on the head.

"He handled it correctly by setting them back into place," Bookman responded flatly, giving his apprentice a look of disapproval. "Having them heal incorrectly would've been a pain later on. It's good to know that at least someone besides myself knows how to use his brain properly."

Lavi merely shrugged at the implied insult.

Silence settled between them for a few moments before it was shattered in a thousand pieces by a loud splash nearby. All three of them were almost immediately with their weapons in their hands as they sought to locate the source of unrest. They soon found it, in the shape of not one but three Level-Threes encircling the ship.

_- _o0o -

Meanwhile, inside the cabin, Allen snapped back into awareness. The world around him slowly shifted back into focus, and it took a few more moments for him to realise that someone had put bandages over the left part of his face. He ripped them off quite swiftly, taking notice of the blood on them as he reached up towards his now seeing eye as he felt something wet trickle down his cheek. The ship cringed violently and Allen knew instinctively why he had woken up as his left eye started hurting and his left arm started cramping.

This was such a bad day.

"We're under attack!" someone shouted from the outside and Allen clutched his head, trying to force back his severe migraine by an act of sheer will. It didn't succeed, but on the other hand, success was only awarded to a few and Allen was pretty sure he was not one of them. The noises from the outside rose in volume as the ship cringed violently before starting to tilt to one side.

Now, even without having to battle a virtually murdering headache, having tears of what appeared to be blood run down his cheeks, an arm that was hurting like Hell, a cursed eye which was going haywire and so on, Allen found himself in quite a pickle as he now had, as it seemed, quite a few alternatives on how to act in a situation like this.

Alternative one; he would play exorcist and help the others out, destroying some akuma and presumably preventing the ship from sinking, possibly earning himself some trust and saving the lives of several people, among them those of quite a few exorcists.

Alternative two; he could always lie exactly where he was and let the world have its way.

Alternative three; he could go outside, fight and then go Missing in Action by accidentally dropping into the ocean.

Alternative four; he could go outside, screw the mission and hitch a ride home with an akuma.

Alternative five… Allen hadn't thought up an alternative five yet. That sure was a pity since now he had merely four alternatives to choose from.

The Innocence imbedded in his left palm shot a searing impulse of pain through him as if telling him to hurry up and make his decision and Allen sighed briefly before getting up, gritting his teeth as he did so, before finally letting the Crowned Clown have its way. The white cloak hovered over him for a brief moment before settling itself on top of his head and shoulders, sliding the domino mask in black and silver onto his face while it was at it. The previous aches immediately started to fade to reasonable levels and Allen stepped forward, exiting the door and making his entrance onto the battlefield that was his stage.

_- _o0o -

Kanda – stuck in a fight with one of the three Level-Threes – was holding up pretty nicely compared to the others, namely Lavi and Bookman fighting a second one and Lenalee fighting the third. He aimed another slash at his opponent who was easily evaded and as he parried a blow that followed, and as he did, he caught sight of something white out of the corner of his eye. His mind registering what it was put him off guard for only a moment, but that was enough for him to get hit by the kick aimed at his midsection, propelling him off of the shipyard on which he had been balancing, causing him to begin his descent to the deck several metres below. The fall would probably hurt a lot, but it wouldn't kill him; he was quite sturdy after all, which did sort of come in handy when someone was trying to kill him.

The fall never came though, at least not in the way that he had expected, as it suddenly came to a halt after several white, almost growing, threads had wrapped themselves around his wrist and yanked him back skywards. On his way up, he briefly encountered what could almost be described as a cloud of scattered particles of Dark Matter that came raining down, the remnants of the Level-Three he had been fighting merely seconds prior.

"Honestly, I can't help but wonder how you people normally get by," the white-cloaked figure snorted in greeting before releasing the threads' hold on Kanda's wrist as he had gotten back onto the shipyard.

Kanda made no comment other than glaring at the masked figure, obviously not too happy with having been saved by someone who he obviously didn't trust and also considered quite weak, Critical Point-Breaker or no.

_- _o0o -

Black needles shot out, seemingly out of thin air, barely blocking Lavi from having his head crushed by a giant fist belonging to the Level-Three him and Bookman were engaging. "Heavenly Compass."

The attack which followed sent the akuma into one of the masts, covering it with needles. "Title: Why won't you finish me off?"

"I will, but only after you answer some questions of mine," Bookman responded. "Where did you come from? There shouldn't be any reason for you to hunt humans out here on the open sea. Did the Earl order you here?"

It was about then that the still needle-covered akuma started laughing at a nearly hysterical pitch. "Don't you want information on Cross Marian?" it then asked, mockingly, before opening its mouth, revealing a row of very sharp teeth, apparently keen on attacking again, but before either exorcist or the akuma had made any further moves the question asked was answered.

"Nope, we're perfectly good," Allen Walker cheerfully replied, using his clawed hand to slash the Level-Three in half while he was at it. "But thanks anyway for asking." Then he used his Innocence to haul him back from whence he came, leaving a couple of temporarily stunned exorcists in his wake.

Lavi was still gaping a couple of seconds afterwards but Bookman snapped him out of it by smacking him on the head, reprimanding him for not paying enough attention and ordering him to go and make himself bloody useful. Once Lavi had complied with the command, Bookman spared one look at the white phantom illuminated by the moonlight soaring the sky in-between his jumps; the kid wasn't flying, but it sure looked like he was somehow defying gravity up there in the skies.

Say whatever one liked about Critical Point-Breakers, but their presence sure made a difference in situations such as this one.

_- _o0o -

Meanwhile, Allen had made his way upwards until he had reached the top of the mast, straight below the thing looking somewhat like a clock-face, courtesy of Miranda Lotto's Innocence no doubt, as said Innocence was already starting to repair the damage dealt to ship and crew alike.

Already having eliminated two of the main threats, Allen took his time to observe from his somewhat elevated position, taking in the fighting which was taking place below as well as the one which was taking place above, between Lenalee Lee and the third remaining Level-Three.

Whatever Allen thought about Lenalee Lee's personality, she did possess an ability to fight quite fiercely when properly motivated. She didn't have much luck in the longer perspective though, as she was, by the looks of it, pretty much getting her ass kicked. _So… help her or not help her?_

Allen contemplated the thought for a few moments before shrugging lightly, suddenly filled with a desire to let Fate run its course for once.

The ship swayed suddenly, nearly making him lose his balance, and he grabbed onto the mast to keep himself somewhat steady. His curse eye reacted to something and he looked up, slightly startled, coming face to face with what appeared to be a fourth Level-Three. "Boo."

That surprise did make him lose his footing, making him fall backwards. But surprisingly enough, the akuma grabbed onto him and pulled him back up by his collar before securing a chokehold on him. Allen however didn't give much resistance, even though his senses were screaming at him to wrestle himself free. "The Earl sent me," it hissed into his ear as it tightened its grip, cutting off the greater part of his flow of air. "He wishes to abort the mission."

"What?" Allen hissed, showing some resistance at last as one of his hands clawed for his assailant while the other sought to free him. "Let… go!"

The Level-Three only responded by tightening the chokehold even more, cutting of the air flow completely. Allen acted instinctively, using his Innocence to chop the other clean in half; it proved to be surprisingly easy, even with the lack of oxygen affecting him and the world blurring briefly for a few moment before he was let go and the akuma exploded, causing him to begin his own descent downwards. He was not that worried though since it took way more than a mere fall to kill him.

Allen didn't fall very far though as someone caught him and pulled him close. Still just a bit dazed by the lack of oxygen, he opened his eyes, not quite realising that he had closed them in the first place, only to find himself face to face with Kanda, looking grumpy as usual but luckily enough keeping his attention elsewhere, keeping it on the things deemed as threats Allen's own presence was not a part of at that moment. "You're not gonna faint on me, are you Moyashi?" Kanda asked with a snort, earning himself a glare in return.

"Like Hell I will," Allen responded, breathing heavily as his body sagged a bit. "I just need… to catch my breath."

"You can barely stand up straight."

"That's a quite natural reaction of one who has just destroyed three Level-Threes," Allen responded, gasping for breath as he looked up into the skies, zeroing in on the spot where Lenalee was still fighting with the remaining Level-Three. "There's one left."

"Worry more about yourself," Kanda replied.

Allen snorted in response, refocusing on his Innocence, summoning it. He turned himself loose from the raven-haired samurai's almost possessive grip and was just about to dash off again, only to experience another onslaught of a severe migraine. He swayed slightly for a moment, managing to steady himself in the next. He was just about to go for the leap when a well-aimed chop to the back of his head sent him into oblivion, as he collapsed limply into the waiting arms of another.

_- _o0o -

When he woke up, he was lying out on deck. _Head… hurts like…_

Oh great, now he couldn't even sit up. _I think I have a concussion…_

Still, even with his head that kind of state, he supposed he might as well analyse the position he was in along with the alternatives which still remained for him.

One; he needed to refrain from ever neglecting to pay attention to anyone or anything aiming to deprive him of his vital dose of oxygen. In addition, he needed to guard his back in case one of his supposed allies decided to knock him out.

Two; the Earl could go and choke on a cup of tea or something.

Three; Allen himself had been way too helpful to these exorcists, saving them even though this was what could be seen as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get rid of six exorcists merely by sinking one ship. It was probably the stress that was getting to him.

Four; he had nearly become overwhelmed by a "puny" Level-Three which had not even been too keen on killing him – put out of action, yes, put out of misery, no – and that was so utterly pathetic he would never see the end of it if someone in the Noah family ever found out about it.

Five; the only thing which really came out of his little stunt earlier seemed to be proving that his life and wellbeing likely held some kind of importance to the exorcists since they had been helpful enough not to let him fall all the way to down.

Six; speaking of exorcists… Lenalee Lee and the akuma she had been fighting was currently nowhere in sight and had not been that for quite a while, a fact which had put quite a few on edge.

Seven; his stomach was rumbling, leading him to the swift conclusion that he was hungry.

Allen's eyes shot open and he sat up slowly, making sure he the strength to do so. Miranda, who was sitting nearby, gave him a worried glance but didn't comment, not even when he got up on somewhat shaky legs and made his way to the railing. Once he had reached his destination, he just stood there, looking out at the dark waters below. Something was approaching, something which looked like a big green-glowing crystal carried by something his cursed eye registered as an akuma. He was not the only one who saw it either, even though he had probably been the first to spot it.

As the rather odd envoy approached, he swiftly noted another detail, namely the fact that there was someone inside of the crystal, and his eyes immediately grew wide. Lenalee Lee – well, her body at least – encased in a glowing crystal, being carried forth by what appeared to be a Level-Two akuma. _Well… that's surely interesting._

_- _o0o -

Too be completely honest, the individual known as Allen Walker was in quite a pickle. He now had some difficulty in deciding what to do with all the things he had managed to find out and accomplish. He spared a glance at the now shorthaired Lenalee as she tried to walk in a straight line on quite unsteady legs. They were covered in some sort of markings, not unlike the ones Allen had on his left shoulder since having become a Critical Point-Breaker.

Apparently, she had forced her Innocence to release more power than her synchronisation rate would allow and her body could handle, hence resulting in her not being able to walk properly, much less being able to use her Innocence anytime soon. Still, the fact that she was still alive after all that had raised some suspicions that her Innocence was the Heart. That in itself should have been sufficient for Allen to eliminate her as soon as possible, but such an act would likely go against the Will of the Innocence or whatever, which would leave him at risk of ending up like Suman Dark.

Then again, there was also the matter with Chomesuke, some akuma converted by no other than Cross Marian himself. Said akuma's presence pretty much spelled trouble for Allen, especially since he was more or less at its mercy since it likely held the knowledge to be able to call him out on his bluff. Thankfully though, the akuma in question wasn't all too bright and swallowed his explanation like most of the others, even if Allen's only "proof" consisted of Timcanpy and his keen knowledge of the general's habits, endeavours and nature in general.

Thanks to Chomesuke, Allen also got more information on what Cross had apparently been doing all along, when he was not making debts and getting drunk, of course. Apparently, Cross Marian's real mission had been to destroy the Akuma Plant in the Ark. Honestly, hadn't the man caused him so much misery those years ago, Allen may even have considered helping him out with that. Then again, Allen could still always destroy the Egg later on if he needed to, and since it appeared as though they would be going to Edo anyway, so Allen figured that he might as well make up a plan to assassinate the bastard while he was at it.

Timcanpy – returning to him after having gone missing for a few hours – settled on top of his head, obviously sensing some of the unrest which lay within him. The whole scenario virtually screamed of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" atmosphere as Allen contemplated his future, or lack thereof perhaps. Going on at his current pace, his life expectancy was looking pretty grim and Allen was almost a hundred percent that he would not live to see twenty. Still, getting all emotional over dying young or over having his mind eradicated by the Fourteenth and so on was pointless, so Allen decided to spend his energy on other far more useful things such as observing and memorising all the details he saw, regardless of which side he would eventually end up using them for.

Allen knew these exorcists pretty well by now, where their loyalties lay and what was important to them. He also had a decent knowledge about their strengths and weaknesses. He also knew about Lenalee Lee's Innocence having the potential of being the Heart.

Allen also had this great urge to jump into the ocean to get away from it all, to return to whence he had come with the information he had gathered so far, even though he knew that he would likely be of more use in his current situation, as a wolf in sheep's clothing hiding in a pack of sheep. Oh well, perhaps not all of them were sheep – not Kanda Yu, not Bookman and not Lavi either – even though the latter was always smiling sheepishly at the world. Allen knew he would have to tread carefully around those people.

Speaking of which, there was another party going on. Honestly, it ought to be a miracle that the Black Order hadn't been eradicated. It was no wonder the Earl had trouble viewing these morons as a serious threat sometimes.

Allen sighed, looking out at the dark waters. Then he turned around, joining in and accepting a drink. _When in Rome, I suppose._

_- _o0o -


	9. Edo

**(Edited 21/1-13)**

_- _o0o -

**Edo**

_- _o0o -

To be completely honest, Allen Walker – the Great Pretender – was a bit nervous now that he had, more or less, defied a pretty direct order from the Earl by not aborting the mission and going along with his ongoing charade since the suspicion held towards his being by the ones present on the ship had lessened a lot since his participation in the battle a few days prior.

Besides, these people had other far more important stuff to worry about than his presence; other than the injuries sustained by the exorcist party itself, a majority of the ship's crew had been infected by the akuma virus, making Miranda's time-out the only thing keeping them alive. Allen wasn't feeling particularly sad for them or anything; it wasn't like he was really on their side anyway, not at the moment at least. Nor did he intend to be, if he had even the slightest choice in the matter; not that such a thing would be very likely, not with his amount of luck anyway.

The ship was, slowly but certainly, making its way towards Edo, but they were quite expected so to say, at least judging by the extensive welcoming committee, seen or rather sensed by Allen's cursed eye, which throbbing increased the closer they got to their final destination.

Final destination. Somehow, wording it like that made the destination itself sound like a death sentence, which it probably was for a majority of the people onboard. Allen just hoped that he wasn't included in all of this, even though he assumed that the Earl would be quite pissed off at him for defying orders.

On a brighter note though, it looked like he would be seeing his so called family again, or at least a part of it, since wherever Cross Marian went, he was soon followed by at least one if not two of the Noah or maybe even three. Once they arrived in that godforsaken country of Japan, Allen hoped that any other Noah either tasked with or just itching to kill Cross Marian at least had the decency to share. After all, if someone else got all the fun, all of the things Allen had suffered through so far would all have been in vain.

In case someone actually did manage to kill off Cross before him, Allen supposed he would be doing the next best thing; if possible, watch and record it for later, and if that wasn't possible he would lit a merry little bonfire using all the lifeboats which were likely going to be used once the big ship finally went down, as it was expected to do exactly ten seconds after Miranda released her Time Out. Then Allen planned on finding this very high and pretty much unreachable place and then he intended to watch as the remainders of the exorcist party and the crew battled against the akuma hordes he knew were waiting for them, all while munching on some popcorn he had conveniently brought along for instances like that; not that such a thing was very likely to occur or anything, not in reality at least, but one could always hope.

_- _o0o -

A single lifeboat filled with the survivors of the battle at sea finally reached the shores of Japan at night-time. Several pairs of eyes watched the petals of pink cherry-blossoms raining down on them under the light of the crescent moon, which alongside the somewhat eerie mist rising from the dark waters helped create quite an atmosphere in combination with the oddly shaped rocks nearby and the lit lanterns fastened upon what looked like iron poles at the dock. Regardless of which, it was very quiet; far too quiet as a matter of fact. Not the good kind of quiet but the "we-are-about-to-walk-into-an-ambush-of-some-sort" kind of quiet.

"We're here," Chomesuke finally announced, Timcanpy still riding on top of his/her/its head as he/she/it guided the lifeboat ashore.

Allen looked up, eyes widening slightly at the sight before him.

There was a great flight of stairs leading up a hill, nearly entirely covered by numerous _torii_ gates, symbolizing that they would soon enter sacred lands. Now that was irony, seeing that the whole country was pretty much ruled by akuma. Besides the gates, there were also numerous scraps _ofuda_ pasted all over the place, scraps of paper with spells usually meant to ward off evil spirits and whatnot; considering the setting, they had obviously failed on that part.

As the flower petals continued raining down over them, the rest of the hooded spectators – barring Kanda and Allen – looked around with both astonished and somewhat fearful looks on their faces, taking in the scenery which lay before them.

"Welcome to Japan!" Chomesuke announced, transforming into a more humanoid _furisode_-clad shape which revealed her true gender, and as they started making their way up the stairs she led them, a paper lantern – which befittingly enough sported the Japanese character for "evil" on it – in hand as she started talking about the history of Japan and the three-hundred-year long national isolation which resulted in the Earl making it his stronghold.

Allen already knew most of this however, since the man himself had thought it appropriate to educate his followers – well, at least those which weren't considered to be direct cannon fodder or too stupid to waste time on – and Allen, living by the general theory of knowing one's enemies thought he might as well learn a bit or two about the Earl in case the man ever became his enemy.

Unluckily for Allen though, it appeared as though that douche Kanda Yu also worked by similar principles, barring the fact that he wasn't very likely to switch sides anytime soon – if at all – and had as it appeared tagged him – Allen – as a highly suspicious individual and as a possible traitor – not that he was ever on their side to begin with – who needed to be watched, preferably at all times or at least closely enough seeing that the guy did know when to lay off when a trip to the restroom was needed and he hadn't attempted to crawl into bed with him – not yet at least – although he was still sitting there leaning his back against the wall keeping a firm grip onto his treasured sword and a keen eye out for any inconsistencies in his behaviour. Hell, Allen would seriously bet money on that the guy watched him sleep, which in turn raised the question as to when the raven-haired guy in question slept. On second thought, Allen seriously didn't want to know. Knowing the bastard kept nearly constant surveillance on him almost 24/7 was a sickening thought in itself; not even Tyki Mikk was that bloody persistent.

A sudden surge of pain suddenly ran through him, focusing in the area at and around his cursed left eye, abruptly bringing him back to the present. Bringing a hand up to his eye, Allen barely noticed that his feet had stopped moving, at least until someone nearly crashed into him from behind. Totally unprepared for it Allen stumbled and was surprisingly enough caught with surprising ease by Lavi. "Whoa, easy there, Moyashi. Watch your step."

Having regained his balance Allen looked at him, his hand still pressed against his eye while he attempted a smile, which probably came out as more of a grimace anyway, partially because of the sudden look of concern which was plastered over pretty much everybody's faces – once again, barring Kanda – most prominently upon that of the normally cheerful and carefree Bookman Apprentice. "Are you alright? In pain?"

_Am I alright? No, probably not since I am aware we're likely about to be ambushed within three minutes._

_Am I in pain? Well, no more than usual when this bloody eye goes haywire on me. But thanks anyway for asking._

_Oh, and did I just get the redheaded airhead who was drooling over that humanoid akuma to pay attention to the fact that I am obviously in pain over here? Huh, guess that means he's at least ten percent more observant than I've given him credit for; I guess that smiling airhead façade actually had me fooled there for a second…_

Allen blinked, finally recalling the fact that he was now at the very centre of people's attention, the very place he had never wanted to occupy regardless of the circumstances. _Well… shit._ That summed up the whole situation pretty nicely, almost, since it was likely going to get a lot worse in mere minutes in case his instincts weren't playing tricks on him.

"I'm fine," he finally said, eyes scanning the surroundings with a great deal of concentration, an action copied by other members of the party as they too had seemingly caught at least the slightest hint as to what awaited them. "We're about to get company though."

_- _o0o -

Tyki Mikk found himself sitting on top of a stone right next to a pond, staring beneath the calm surface while zeroing in on his objective. Using some keen reflexes, his hand shot out, fingers grabbing onto an extremely well-fed carp and hauling it out of the water while the creature thrashed wildly until he had broken its neck the fraction of a second later and was stuffing himself with it; the skin, fins, intestines and all.

Had Allen been there, he would probably made a somewhat disgusted noise at the sight, at least before berating him, telling him that fish tasted much better when cooked using the right kind of spice in appropriate amounts.

Wasabi for one thing wasn't what Allen would have considered a good spice and to say the least he had not been overly impressed when treated to sushi. If Tyki recalled things correctly, Allen had said something along the lines of _"If you ever feel up to treating me to raw fish and plain rice wrapped in seaweed along with some insanely spicy stuff again then would you at least have the decency to warn me next time regarding how spicy wasabi is?"._

Either way, it wasn't like Allen was around at the moment to object to his lack of table manners – or just eating habits in general. He wasn't although he probably should've been, at least if he hadn't acted like a moron, defied orders and gone cruising with the exorcist team tasked with tracking down Cross Marian, which in itself probably didn't seem like such a bad idea in Tyki's opinion, as the Noah themselves had so far had little luck in locating the man themselves, but was a bad idea since the other had openly or indirectly defied an order from the Earl.

They knew as much as the fact that Cross Marian was currently residing in Japan, presumably somewhere in the area surrounding Edo. Nothing more, nothing less. They didn't know his purpose for being there either, but knowing the man in question fairly well, whatever he was up to he was obviously trouble.

Then again, perhaps Allen did have some sort of master plan going on which would eventually make the punishment he was likely to receive for his defiance worthwhile; now Tyki himself was no genius but even he had some sort of idea as to what kind of stuff Allen could possibly be planning. His first idea included leading the exorcist fools to Edo, thereby endangering them to such an extent that Cross Marian would be forced to interfere, and if he didn't then the Noah would have a great time hunting and killing exorcists, wiping out approximately half of the remaining exorcist force as they did so. Tyki's second idea included leading the exorcist fools to Edo, somehow trapping them inside the old Ark – which data Road was currently busy downloading in order for the Earl to construct a new one – and having a merry farewell party while watching them disappear permanently alongside the dysfunctional Ark. Now, in case either one of these ideas had been involved while Allen supposedly constructed his so called master plan, then Tyki would definitely give him an affectionate clap on the shoulder and tell him what a good boy he was, prepared to duck or dodge the kick or hit which was obviously coming, likely to be aimed at his more sensitive areas.

_- _o0o -

Meanwhile, Allen Walker himself was indeed delivering a kick at one of the three Level-Threes they had encountered, or rather been found by because some idiot – a male member of the party – couldn't keep his mouth shut long enough to save his own life; not to mention everyone else's. Luckily enough though, at least some people of the group did have the means to defend themselves – although as usual, Allen didn't go all out since it would be troublesome if they knew his true strength in case he ever needed to make a clean getaway – meaning that they wouldn't get slaughtered or even decimated right as they had arrived.

Nevertheless, fighting with a more or less severe come-and-go migraine was a pain. It was distracting at best although he didn't let it show; at least not before he had defeated his own foe. The ones remaining he left for Kanda and the others to take care of and deactivated his Crowned Clown, but not after scanning the area for more akuma. "There are no more unmodified akuma within the range of three kilometres in every direction, so we should be able to manage," Allen finally said just as Kanda had sliced his opponent to bits and Crowley had gone vampire on the other, sucking it completely dry. "Beyond that, in the direction of Edo, there's this… huge blob."

"Define blob," Bookman muttered, speaking for the first time in quite a while.

"Meaning that there are so bloody many of them that I can't tell how many there are," Allen responded somewhat dryly. "I'd estimate that there are at least three hundred of them in that particular area alone…"

Kanda snorted while Bookman narrowed his eyes. The others exchanged worried looks.

"I was the one who insisted we'd keep on going back then," Lenalee said, still being carried on the back of the individual Allen had privately labeled Loud Idiot Number One, some guy named Chaoji Han who alongside two other people had been the only surviving members of the crew. "But now…"

Allen interrupted her. "But as of now we are within enemy territory, our fighting force is extremely limited and some are suffering from possibly crippling injuries," he calmly stated, combing his fingers through his already messy hair. "I can fight, probably. Kanda will be able to fight and it's the same thing with Lavi, Bookman and Crowley. You've busted your legs and can't even walk properly, Miranda's Innocence is a defensive type at best and then we also have the three stooges over there…" - He made a slight gesture at the three surviving crew members – "We're up against an army of akuma containing both Level-Twos and Level-Threes and possibly against an unknown number of Noah family members and maybe even the Earl himself if we're really unlucky. Nevertheless, I am the level of a general at best, but as far as I'm aware neither of you have managed to achieve a hundred percent synchronisation or higher, meaning that we're in some serious trouble…" he paused briefly, letting his eyes wander over their faces.

"If you people want to go back to the lifeboats and row the Hell away from here that's your choice, although I somehow doubt you'd make it back to the main continent before your food and water rations ran out, that is unless you got lucky as Hell and were found by a cruise boat which had gotten lost in the mist or something," Allen cheerfully continued, flashing a smile at them as he did so. "Meaning that the odds that you're going to die by either continuing this foolish quest or by cancelling it and thus starving to death while drifting at sea are pretty much the same either way, besides the fact that you'll probably live a bit longer if you take the boats and leave now instead of fleeing head over heels later on. I mean, thanks for the ride and all that, but I don't mind continuing to Edo alone since my master will have my head if I don't and I'd seriously hate that."

"Who wouldn't?" Bookman muttered. "However, our mission is to track down the general…"

"Good luck with that," Allen responded, still smiling as he tilted his head to the side. "However I do have a certain point, don't I?"

"What point?" Kanda hissed, sheathing Mugen with a great amount of irritation showing in his movements.

Allen's smile faded, being replaced by a grumpy facial expression which was a nearly perfect imitation of the one Kanda usually wore. "Because," he calmly stated. "Taking about half of the remaining exorcist force on this wild goose chase is to be considered suicidal; even using Timcanpy's help to track him down, we'd still have to fight our way through an army of Level-Threes in order to get there, all while the man himself watches from some convenient hiding place and gives a brief toast with his wineglass at the sight of us getting ourselves killed, not lifting as much as a finger to help us. Get it?"

There were several protests following his statement, but he silenced them with a dark look and an overly dramatic gesture accompanied by the words "Believe me, I've known the man for years; I know how he works". They still didn't seem to believe him. Fools.

"Even at this stage, it's still our mission and we need to accomplish it," Lenalee said. "No matter what."

_Even at the cost of all of your lives?_

Allen's face remained serious, but inwardly he found himself sniggering. These people – well, certainly not _all_ of them but a chosen few – were complete utter fools. Really, calling them fools was a severe understatement; it was simply too bad that he hadn't found a better word for what they were. Whilst a part of him was laughing, another felt some really deep sympathy for them; when he looked at the fools and at Lenalee Lee in particular, he suddenly felt this great pity for her and for the rest of them; he didn't really know why but he still felt it, however vaguely.

Guess that meant he could still be classified as a human after all, even though his morals were still somewhat twisted. Either way, even with the nearly constant migraines he was experiencing every now and then, at least the Fourteenth wasn't acting up any more than usual. Still, Allen silently wondered whether his already somewhat delicate mind would be able to handle any more stress, which would likely be generated in case the guy living inside his head decided to start up a conversation, some sort of never-ending dialogue which couldn't be shut out no matter what. "_A-llen…"_

His head immediately snapped up, eyes warily scanning the surroundings before zeroing in on Chomesuke, who had sunk down to her knees and was clutching her head. This revelation brought his guard up straight away as he realized that Cross' modification of akuma was temporary at best, meaning that the modified akuma would likely revert back to their old ways in mean time unless they self-destructed before that of course. "I'm receiving a transmission… from the Earl…." Chomesuke choked out, still clutching her head. "He seems to be calling… for all the akuma in the country to gather…"

Once again the fools looked taken aback at this statement while the people harbouring a few more brain cells wore grim looks on their faces, except for Lavi who was somehow grinning manically. "Well, that's all fine and dandy, kind of like an invitation, you know?"

Allen stared at the redhead for a couple of moments, then tilted his head to the side and said: "Do we look like akuma, you jackass?"

"Well…" said redhead responded tapping his cheek with a somewhat thoughtful expression. "Some of us do more than others…" He glanced at Kanda for a brief couple of seconds when he said that, something which appeared to irritate the raven-haired teen a lot.

Somehow, Allen had this deep inner desire to slap himself in the face repeatedly, questioning his own sanity for making attempts to reason with these morons. Seriously, any more of their company and he'd have to fear his IQ would start dropping.

"In the Imperial Capital Edo… the Millennium Earl…"

"What?" Lavi exclaimed in disbelief at hearing Chomesuke's latest statement. "The Earl is in Edo?"

The other members of the party wore similar expressions, either of disbelief, fear or just plain indifference for a few. Allen himself on the other hand felt like slapping himself in the face again, this time at the revelation – or in his case, the confirmation – that his real boss, the one whose orders he had recently defied, was in town and likely feeling up for some bloodshed. Either way, that kind of thing did not bode well in his case, that is unless the Earl instantly forgave him since he had kind of 'lured' the exorcists to the very location the Earl resided with his mighty army and whatnot, ensuring that the high lord would have both a sufficient amount of bloodshed and entertainment, hopefully enough not to try to find it in punishing an unruly subordinate like Allen himself.

Then again, there was that tiny but still possible risk that the Earl now considered him a traitor for his apparent fraternizing with the enemy. In such case, he was royally screwed, three times over. Hopefully though, the Earl would see things his way and see this cleverly constructed master plan which was in reality quite vague and uncertain in the sense that Allen himself wasn't a hundred percent certain it had ever even existed in the first place.

_- _o0o -

Having hitched a ride with the twins on their way to Edo, Tyki Mikk found himself in an unusually contemplative mood. The journey in itself had been fairly uneventful overall, at least if one disregarded the fact that they had actually run over Skin Bolic before letting him onto the carriage as well.

The conversation they had occupied themselves in during said journey had mostly consisted of them jeering at each other's failures, as well as vows on which of them would be the one to successfully assassinate Cross Marian, a task which the twins had failed to accomplish at least three times already. The latter though had claimed that this was not due to their general level of incompetence – as Tyki would have guessed – but rather due to the fact that Cross was apparently even more sneaky and much cleverer than he had previously been given credit for, especially since said general had also somehow managed to push a fair amount of his debts onto the misfortunate Noah pair. For this, Tyki pitied them just a little.

Besides that and his unfortunate family members' general failure to carry out the missions they'd been given, Tyki felt rather content with the fact that he himself could not be accused of complete incompetence, not with all the exorcist killings on his track record.

His thoughts once again wandered over to Allen. If things had gone like expected they would likely meet face to face soon enough, and the white-haired teen would likely be quite keen on getting revenge for that whole 'plunging a hole into his heart and supposedly leaving him to die in order to make the act believable' idea.

But when they did meet again, Tyki silently asked himself about how Allen would act; would he rejoin the family right away in front of the exorcists or would he keep up his act and fight them? Even worse, would he betray them? However unlikely a scenario it was, Tyki knew that there was a great risk it would occur eventually, and he also knew that Allen must already have considered the possibility; it probably wouldn't be the teen's most preferable alternative though, although if the Earl backed him too far into a corner Tyki had little doubts that Allen would use whatever means necessary to get himself out. Then again, the whole deal with the having the Fourteenth's Memories imbedded in him spoke both for and against Allen; with his skills and apparent hatred for Cross and the Order, he was a useful ally, but at the same time he was also to some degree mistrusted, for possessing Innocence as well as the Memories of the man who had at one point in time sought to kill the Millennium Earl and nearly managed to wipe out the Noah clan in the process.

Still, Tyki knew very well that if Allen did change sides for whatever reasons he might have to do so, the Earl would definitely not take it lying down; there would almost definitely be some sort of retrieval or he would have Allen assassinated before the Fourteenth fully awakened. That much was fairly certain in Tyki's world, although he sincerely hoped that neither scenario would come to pass in reality; no matter how fun it would likely be to have an opportunity to fight Allen in a serious battle, Tyki still preferred it if he didn't have to fight to kill. It would be such a waste after all.

_- _o0o -

Meanwhile, Allen along with the reformed akuma Chomesuke acting as a tour guide, the bunch of idiots calling themselves exorcists and the three stooges accompanying them, found themselves in the middle of what had been left behind of a massacre, obviously from higher level akuma killing lower level akuma.

While calmly surveying the rather gory scene, Allen noted the clear disgust and sickened looks on the faces of the others. Allen himself felt oddly empty inside and besides, the broken bodies of the akuma he could see didn't have their souls; the deed had already been done and all that was left were the broken shells, the broken dolls which required souls to move, think and act.

Thinking about it, Allen realised that akuma were a lot like humans, only twisted. They were souls called back from the dead by their loved ones, possessing an artificial body of Dark Matter and then ended up killing their loved ones in order to wear their skins, gradually evolving and acquiring both a special akuma ability as well as various skills such as the ability to reason. In itself, that realisation sickened him, especially so when his curse made sure he would see the trapped souls writhe in agony which seemingly increased each time they evolved, commonly by killing or by devouring other akuma.

Reminding himself that only Innocence could properly purify and release an akuma's soul, Allen's hand curled into a fist, his nails digging into his palms as he bit his lip, feeling obviously frustrated both with himself and otherwise. _Come on, Allen, get your act together… this is neither the time nor the place to be having second thoughts or a moral dilemma… We don't want to be on the losing side, remember? In the longer term, the Black Order doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell against the Earl, so why are you wavering now? You hate these idiots anyway, right?_

A heavy hand fell onto his shoulder, startling him. Allen looked up – expecting to be looking up into the face of the constantly disgruntled samurai – and was rather surprised when the hand's owner turned out to be Aleister Crowley. The latter was looking around the area with an almost predatory look on his face.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Lavi said for the umpteenth time already, surveying the remaining carcasses with a somewhat sickened look on his face.

_And I have a bad feeling about having tagged along with you guys in the first place, but you don't see me complaining about it… in the open._

Allen looked up as the cursed one suddenly reacted. "Incoming," he informed the others while activating his Innocence. "Level-Threes, three, nine, eleven and twelve o'clock!"

He barely even managed to finish his sentence before having to duck in order to avoid being hit by a fast-moving projectile coming in the shape of a violet glowing thread, which instead got the fairly unprepared Chomesuke. Almost immediately, she was trapped in some sort of glowing web-like substance which still remained attached to the fingertips of a Level-Three that emerged from the shadows expressing a great deal of amusement over the prey that had been caught in its web. "Well, well, well…" the Level-Three chuckled as two others also emerged from the surrounding foliage. "Looks like waiting around wasn't a total waste after all; it's sure been a while since I've tasted human flesh… and unlike those other idiots you killed down there earlier, I'm sure I'll be more successful…"

"You mean 'we', of course?" one of the newcomers sourly added.

"I say we battle for who's going to eat how many after we've actually killed them," a third added, surveying the group of humans. Its eyes nearly immediately focused on Allen who stood there with Crowned Clown surrounding him, looking ready to attack them at any given moment. "Take out the white one first," the third then added. "The others are all small-fry. Besides, we still need to respond to the Earl's summons…"

"No worries, this will be over in no time…"

Obviously not happy with having been referred to as a small-fry, Kanda was the person who attacked first with Mugen at hand, aiming a slash at the akuma closest to him.

Acting almost simultaneously, Allen and Crowley both jumped, aiming their attacks at the one controlling the web which was currently holding Chomesuke hostage – not that Allen did it to save her of course, although he did prefer it if he didn't have to watch when or if she got herself eaten. Surely enough, the threads shot out, catching him by the ankle. This didn't faze him much, as he cut through them without much effort and somersaulted, landing on the ground a couple of metres away. An eerily determined glint appeared into his eyes. _Damn it… we can't afford to be wasting time over here… I need to get to Edo… and kill that bastard once and for all…_

In response to his renewed conviction, Crowned Clown flared before shooting up in web like spikes, efficiently impaling not only one but two Level-Threes like it was nothing because man, he was seriously frustrated with the situation and to be truthful he didn't wish to spend a moment more than absolutely necessary with the exorcists and their overly optimistic band of idiots. Before he was able to do anything more though, a fourth Level-Three suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and successfully nailed him in the side of the head, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

"Allen!" There were frantic calls for him from the idiots but he paid them no heed, focusing his attention on the akuma that had attacked him, all while bringing one of his hands up to examine the bleeding wound he now sported on the side of the head, courtesy of not paying enough attention to his surroundings. A borderline insane grin threatened to break out in his face. "I'm so going to get you for that…"

_- _o0o -

Less than ten minutes later, the group was making their way towards Edo, having defeated the Level-Threes in record time. Allen himself – having been responsible for taking down three of them and an additional one if counting that thing which had happened earlier – was feeling pretty beat; he still hadn't recovered completely from the whole ordeal of having his heart punctured either, so he was well aware that his energy reserves were running out, which of course didn't bode that well for him in general.

Chomesuke – still alive and well unfortunately – was guiding them to Edo, through some shortcut. There was little doubt though, in Allen's mind at least, that they were getting closer, not only to the Earl and his army, but also to Cross Marian if Timcanpy's recent behaviour was any indication. Ah, Allen seriously needed to conserve his energy in case an opportunity to kill the bastard would arise anytime in the near future. After all, it would be a serious disappointment if he came face to face with the bastard but didn't have enough energy to go through with extracting his revenge.

The exorcist party was also in a surprisingly good shape, with a total of four out of eight – five out of eight counting Allen and six out of nine if one counted Chomesuke as a member of the party – capable of fighting, at least for having been assaulted by seven Level-Threes within a day and likely to be assaulted by many more to come in the near future; Allen was no seer, but he could tell that much without much difficulty. Too bad for him though – or was it a good thing? – the exorcists didn't seem to arrive at the same conclusion.

No, that wasn't right; an increasing percentage of the party did realise at least to some extent the kind of fate that was likely awaiting them in Edo, but they still pushed on. Even though the task which lay before them was downright impossible, at least from his own perspective, judging from their currently diminishing forces along with the lousy tactic they obviously applied, Allen could tell that the only reason as to why the Black Order even had exorcists left was because the Earl still wasn't serious enough in that whole 'finding the Heart and destroying the world' quest of his.

However, judging from the Earl's recent activities in Edo, such as the summoning of all akuma in Japan to Edo per se, the war would be fought at least a bit more seriously from that day onward. Allen supposed he needed to hurry up with his mission – at least one of them – then, if he didn't want to be scolded for being an incompetent subordinate – or being killed either for looking incompetent or for being suspected of treason. Nevertheless, with Allen cunningly bringing a whole shitload of exorcists – one of them being a possible possessor of the Heart – into the Earl's stronghold, obviously expecting to see them all killed, hopefully in the most spectacular way possible, the Earl couldn't very well refer to him as incompetent.

Then again, nowadays Allen did ask himself why he hadn't bothered to decimate the exorcist force just a little earlier, to save him a few problems later on; if he had just killed Kanda Yu off back there in Martel, just let Lenalee Lee die at the hands of Road, just killed Miranda Lotto before she gained control of her Innocence, just killed Aleister Crowley before he learned about his, just have let Lavi the Bookman's Apprentice be eaten by a flesh-eating plant and so on and so forth. Hell, why didn't he go with the idea of letting the ship sink out there at sea? Or at least pushed _someone _overboard?

The answer was simple; he needed to have a backup plan just in case the Earl decided to try to get rid of him. However, since he had just more or less concluded that the world was screwed anyway and that the Order would lose the war regardless, Allen found himself questioning why he had even bothered anyway. After all, it wasn't like he would be around for long regardless of who won anyway.

Raising his eyes with a rather impassive look on his face, Allen finally saw it, Edo, alongside the swarm of akuma hovering above it. Oh, and at closer observation, there was the Earl alongside several Noah, just like Allen had already foreseen. _I seriously hope this works out… if it doesn't then I'm seriously screwed._

_- _o0o -

Apparently, the Earl had assembled the entire akuma population of Japan in Edo for a specific purpose, that is to merge them into a pair of giant deformed three-faced akuma to attack the generals, although before that one of the more hot-headed members of the exorcist party – the Bookman Apprentice – had decided to announce their presence in the flashiest way possibly known to man. In other words, he decided to release a giant fire serpent and have it try to eat the Millennium Earl. The attempt obviously failed in every way except that it actually managed to do at least three things. One: It managed to bring attention to their presence as well as their specific location. Two: It managed to singe the Earl's coat and thereby piss him off.

"Come out, come out, you little rats," the man in question said, chuckling darkly as he did so, from his place in the sky where he was clearly defying gravity by floating with the use of an umbrella.

"We won't let you get to the generals, Earl!" one of the brave fools shouted as they made their presence known on top of one of the lower rooftops, while the members of the party either glared murder at their greatest foe, shook in barely contained fear or tried desperately to keep a straight face, because seriously, bursting out laughing in a supposedly grim and life-threatening situation like this one ought to gather some unwanted attention as well as the possibility of an immediate reaction from either one party or both.

"Do you honestly believe you can win?" the Earl chuckled, having regained his footing on top of an ever so faithful Level-Three. His eyes landed on the group of worn travellers, his ever-present grin widening a bit. His eyes then clearly fell upon Allen himself, who was oh-so-cleverly wearing his hood up.

Upon sensing his boss' close scrutiny, Allen merely responded with a barely noticeable nod, lowering his head as a sign of his submission, showing the Earl his intentions. Seeing this, the Earl's grin widened even some more and he responded by making a gesture towards the Noah with his umbrella in hand.

Meanwhile, obviously having missed the brief exchange between the Earl and one of their fellow party members people started asking questions.

"Is that ridiculous-looking fat man really the Earl?" Crowley asked, directing himself to Bookman.

"Yes," the man in question replied. "That is the Millennium Earl, the creator of akuma…"

"Our sworn enemy," Lenalee added with a serious look on her face, forcing Allen to apply a great amount of self-restraint not to roll his eyes at her statement of the obvious.

Then Chomesuke decided that the whole idea with bringing the exorcist party to Edo in the first place was a fairly bad idea which would end with getting them all killed, "Are you really serious about fighting against him? The large army of akuma aside, there are four members of the Noah clan here as well! There's no way you can win! You'll die with a hundred percent's certainty!"

And sure, Chomesuke was correct in her statement, which pretty much contained the same information Allen had given them already. But even so, people felt the need to contend the statement even then, although it was fairly obvious for just about anyone with more than just two brain cells to tell that they had no bloody chance in Hell of winning this.

"Don't say that," Lavi insisted with his weapon in hand. "We know how awesome they are, alright, but we don't intend to fight a losing battle!"

Seriously: if this wasn't a losing battle Allen didn't know what a losing battle looked like. Chomesuke's voiced opinions mirrored a similar kind of reasoning, but she was soon interrupted by Crowley, who basically told her to shut up and said that you'd never really know for sure if you didn't try, a reasoning which made it really hard for Allen to keep a straight face through it all.

Oh he did actually like Crowley a little bit, you know as side-show entertainment and a reasonably sane conversationalist – at least before he got infected with this "We-can-do-anything-as-long-as-we-believe-in-ourselves-and-each-other" virus which had apparently infected certain members of the crew – but the reasoning that "one wouldn't know if it would work if one didn't try" was just a really laughable thing when applied to this particular situation, seeing that the exorcist party had had trouble dealing with just four or five Level-Threes, and this particular situation had hundreds of them plus their arch nemesis plus his loyal servants, all of them far stronger than puny Level-Threes. Ah, it seemed as though logic thinking was never such a big hit within the Order. Then again, considering their connection to the Vatican, maybe it was not such a strange thing after all since those guys had people executed for claiming that the Earth was round and revolved around the sun and all.

"That's right," Lavi agreed, grinning cheerfully. "We might even overwhelm them!"

Yep, logic thinking was definitely not included. It was either that or the stress of being forced to battle akuma on a daily basis that had gone to their heads.

Lavi and Crowley initiated their attack. Still, watching at the sidelines, Allen had to admit that he was fairly impressed that they somehow managed to beat a total of three level-threes on their second try. _Oh well, only a couple of hundred of them left then._

Then Kanda and Bookman decided to join in on the battle, that is, after the Earl had created his large deformed giants. To say the least, they had about as much success with those at the first couple of tries as Lavi had in his earlier attempt at frying the Earl.

"Now only you bastards remain!" Lavi shouted, pointing his finger in direction of the Earl and the Noah, nearly all of whom were observing him with a great deal of amusement, while Allen silently asked himself whether Lavi had just conveniently forgotten about the two giant akuma created from like a couple of hundred Level-Twos and Level-Threes.

_- _o0o -

Tyki smirked, taking the provocation for what it was, and soon gained permission to jump into the fray. Still smirking, he jumped off the roof he had previously sitting on, summoning his Tease weapon on his arm which would work both as a shield and as a weapon.

Initially, he had started fighting with the Bookman's Apprentice, but he was more batting him around than actually fighting him. That is, until a very familiar white-cloaked masked individual decided to interfere. Not that it surprised him much; he had anticipated it. "We meet again, Boy."

_- _o0o -

To Allen, upholding appearances was fairly important, and since he had already pretended to be their reluctant ally for more than a week, he supposed he might as well continue with it for just a little longer, and get the chance to kick Tyki's arse while he was at it as a revenge for that stunt the other had pulled on him back in Asia.

However, as the fight went on, it became quite clear to him that he was running out of energy faster than expected. He aimed a slash at Tyki's chest area with his claws, only to have Tyki grab a hold of his wrist and twist his arm behind his back in an iron grip as the Noah leaned over, towering over him. "You're weaker than the last time we fought," Tyki said in an as-a-matter-of-factly way. "Are the exorcists driving you too hard?" he added with a certain amount of glee, which only increased as Allen let out a growl while attempting to wrestle his arm free, at which Tyki's grip hardened and turned extremely painful. "Tut tut, no moving now little exorcist; that is, unless you want me to break your arm right here and now…"

Allen's eyes narrowed to slits. He then aimed a kick at Tyki's shin at the same time as he called upon his Innocence, which almost eagerly responded to his call as the edges of his cloak turned into spikes which shot out towards his opponent. Tyki Mikk barely avoided being impaled by them, but he seemed far more amused with the situation than anything else and his weapon flared noticeably, seemingly as a reaction to his ill-concealed excitement. But then again, the Noah did have a certain tendency of getting overly excited whenever there was some sort of promise of potential bloodshed and death.

Having re-attained his freedom of mobility, Allen darted off, aiming on putting some distance between them. But the Noah of Pleasure wasn't having any of it as he swiftly pursued, using his ability to pass through things as he kept track of the teen from below. Then, finally recognising that it was time to stop playing cat and mouse, Tyki thrust his arm upwards through the roof of the building he was currently passing through, intending to catch the teen by surprise by grabbing him by the ankle. Clearly anticipating this though, Allen skilfully avoided the potential trap and jumped from the roof, landing on solid ground in the middle of some inner yard or something where he abruptly stopped and turned around with his cloak billowing around him, sinking into attack position as he did so.

It wasn't long before Tyki Mikk emerged through one of the walls, wearing a somewhat exaggerated version of his trademark smirk while numerous butterflies in black and violet fluttered around him for a couple of seconds before they went off in Allen's direction, attacking him in great numbers. This had very little effect though as Allen's Innocence merely wrapped itself more tightly around his body, effectively protecting it from the advance of the flesh-eating Tease. Another surge of energy efficiently did away with them, but they had already served their purpose in providing a sufficient distraction for Tyki to get close enough to land a kick in the teen's abdomen with a fair amount of force, sending him flying into a wall.

He hit it with a fair deal of force and then sagged down it, and as the white-haired teen's head limply lolled to the side and his Innocence deactivated, Tyki was fairly sure that this particular battle was over and as such he started to advance on his seemingly defeated opponent, nearly missing out on the indignant cry from the exorcist party as they had apparently seen what had happened. It didn't matter, Tyki concluded, seeing that they were too far away to interfere anyway. "This is enough, right?"

His earlier excitement forgotten, Tyki crouched down, cupping the boy's cheek while lifting his head a bit and checking his pulse; it was there, fast but slightly irregular. Continuing his careful prodding of the teen's skull, he found the forming bump on the back of the head courtesy of the impact with the wall. With all due certainty, the kid would almost definitely be enjoying the aftermath of a well-earned concussion, not to mention the internal bleeding he might have caused.

With a sigh, Tyki straightened up, surveying the still ongoing battle with a certain amount of distaste adorning his features, especially when spotting the redheaded exorcist – the Bookman Apprentice if memory served him right – racing towards them with the sort of energy and speed that only pure desperation could give. Tyki let out a snort; the exorcist wouldn't reach them in time anyway.

Once again turning towards Allen's still prone form by the wall, he bent over, intent on picking him up, but a sudden impulse of something surged through the air around them and he backed away on pure instinct, not fully aware as to why he had done so.

That is until a pair of amber eyes glared back at him. _Oh snap._

_- _o0o -


	10. The Boy and the Earl

**(Edited 21/1-13)**

_- _o0o -

**The Boy and the Earl**

_- _o0o -

_"How dare you? How dare you turn me into an akuma?"_

_Hands clawed for him, seemingly intent on ripping him apart while a voice raised in anger continued shouting at him. The left part of his face felt like it was on fire, but he was all too terrified of the spectacle which was before him to pay much attention to the blood as it continued oozing out from somewhere and trickling down his cheek._

_"I curse you! I curse you, Allen Walker!"_

_- _o0o -

_A scaly claw ripped him to pieces, the man he had loved as he had loved no other. His foster father, his guardian, his all... shredded and dissolving, returning to a state of nonexistence._

_"Allen… I love you…"_

_Tears continued to trickle down his cheeks steadily, mixing with the blood and diluting it. Silver-grey eyes, still wide in shock gazed upon the scene before them as the strange man with the top hat and the umbrella faded away from it, leaving the child to survey the scraps of unknown material which had only moments earlier held the soul of his beloved Mana. Staring blankly, but not really seeing anything, he nearly failed to notice the redheaded man when he appeared and knelt before him where he sat, slumped against a gravestone, his eyes as dull as they could ever have been._

_"An akuma's soul has no freedom; it's restrained eternally as the Earl's toy. There's no way to save it except to destroy it…"_

_Salvation can only be attained through destruction._

_His left arm was burning, having returned to its original but still slightly deformed state of being._

_"You seem to bear an unfortunate fate, having been born with an anti-akuma weapon…"_

_Unfortunate?_

_The child looked up, vaguely, but didn't meet the man's eyes._

_"It seems as though you are also an apostle still possessed by God."_

_What God?_

_The child looked up again, finally meeting the man's eyes. A hand was held out towards him, but he just stared at it blankly, without figuring out its purpose for being there._

_"Won't you become an exorcist?"_

_He took it, knowing little of the troubles and the suffering which awaited him in doing so._

_- _o0o -

_A pitiful fate had befallen him, and a rough life had awaited him beyond the invitation to atone for his sins. A rough life meant little to him, seeing that he had rarely ever known any other way of living, yet the lack of control he felt then compared to previously had essentially been what had driven him over the edge. _

_Being beat within an inch of his life by a drunk man was certainly not a first time occurrence for him, and it was one he would likely have lived through even then, with the fingers wrapped around this throat, squeezing the life out of him. He had always known deep down after all that Cross would not kill him; he would beat him within an inch of his life, but it was that very inch which made all the difference. The man might not have cared for his life anywhere beyond the point of actually keeping him alive, but for Allen, it should have been enough; it really should've, but it wasn't. The debts were annoying more than anything, their existence remaining as a source of nearly endless frustration to him even then, yet he had been able to live with them, had been able to pay them off little by little as they grew more and more rapidly. Even he had his breaking point, and when that point had been reached he knew not to push it any further._

_Reflected in a broken mirror, his face was as pale as usual but his eyes were much colder and deader than he could recall having seen them. He approached it, putting his hand out towards the mirror to retrieve one of the loosely attached fragments, holding it in his hand and staring down at it, watching his own eyes reflected in it. In some way, they were the same somehow, him and the mirror; both of them broken, both of them consisting of smashed fragments only loosely held together with crappy glue which rapidly grew weaker over time. He bit his lip, discarding it from his palm, watching it as it fell onto the floor and shattered into tiny little pieces._

_Someday, he supposed, a similar fate would no doubt befall him._

_- _o0o -

_He could see them writhing in agony as clear as day, the souls trapped within the sinister machinery of an akuma, eternally trapped within and eternally trapped in a state of unimaginable suffering, suffering which only grew as the akuma evolved and evolved and evolved. Allen closed his eyes, unable to bear watching it for any longer, as he brought his claw down to send it back into oblivion._

_They disgusted him, yet filled him with pity all the same, pity for what they were. One after another, he set them free, freeing them from their shackles to pursue some higher level of existence far beyond the mortal realm. One after another, he destroyed those which came in his way, but as he kept on going, he soon realised that it was a fruitless battle on his part since more and more of them kept on coming. It was endless, he realised, the supply of akuma, seeing that there was no end to the thing which was referred to as tragedy. It was endless, but not due to the existence of tragedy itself, but rather due to the fact that humans could not accept that their loved ones could be torn from them at any moment and would not return in spite of their prayers. It was an endless spiral of tragedies and death, steadily heading downwards._

_Endlessly repeated mistakes, over and over and over, giving birth to new akuma which in turn gave birth to new tragedies and new mistakes._

_Humans, how they disgusted him._

_- _o0o -

_Insults showered over him, but he took them all in stride. Insults gradually began to be accompanied by fists and kicks, but he let them shower over him all the same._

_Pain mattered little to him after all. No, pain was a good thing; it proved to him that he was still alive, that he was still clinging to life._

_But what happened to moving forward?_

_- _o0o -

_Upon realising what he had just done, he drew a sharp breath before his master's rage came crashing down on him with full force. Fingers tightened around his throat, cutting off his oxygen supply and threatening to crush his windpipe. Black blotches started clouding his vision._

_He knew Cross would let go of him eventually; he knew Cross wouldn't kill him off just like that, so he fell limp in the other's grip, surrendering to a state very near to actual unconsciousness._

_It was over._

_- _o0o -

"_Why waver between Heaven and Hell when in the end they are the same? Why keep on pleading to a God who has since long stopped listening to the mortals' prayers? Praying won't bring Mana back to me. Praying won't save me from my master's rage…"_

_- _o0o -

_He had made his choice._

_- _o0o -

_"Why would I sacrifice so much for a world and humanity which has never given me anything?"_

_- _o0o -

_"My parents abandoned me and society shunned me. Mana was different though."_

_Different, but barking mad._

_"He did curse you though," Tyki said, exhaling some smoke._

_"Only so that I would be able to repent my sins. I live for the salvation of akuma alone. Not to serve some corrupted justice or a God who has turned his back on us a long time ago…"_

_- _o0o -

_"…I fell from grace a long time ago."_

_- _o0o -

_The shadow kept on following him around, showing up whenever he passed by a mirror, accompanying his reflection._

_Headaches, accompanied by strange dreams, haunted him._

_His life was draining away at an accelerated rate; he could feel it._

_He was losing his mind, gradually losing control of what dwelled within; he could sense it._

_- _o0o -

_"For a person like me there'll be no salvation," he repeated, his voice a mere whisper as he passed by a shop window, seeing the ever-grinning shadow as it hovered over him like the Grim Reaper himself._

_He continued walking, picking up his pace._

_- _o0o -

_"You say you are an observer, but who are you really?"_

_- _o0o -

_"I am no one… Yet I am someone. I am one person, yet I am someone else as well. Two sides of the same coin if you like, a part of both sides yet of neither, a grey entity in a world of black and white… Quite frankly, at the moment, I am not completely sure about exactly who I am and what kind of role I'm supposed to play, but when I do, I am certain that you will be able to tell whether I am a friend or foe to you…"_

_- _o0o -

_"Are you ready to 'die', Boy?"_

_"How could I ever be ready?"_

_- _o0o -

_Cold fingers were around his throat, cutting off his supply of oxygen._

_"The Earl sent me," a voice hissed into his ear as the hold on his throat tightened. "He wishes to abort the mission."_

_"What?" Allen hissed, showing some resistance at last as one of his hands clawed for his assailant while the other sought to free him. "Let… go!"_

_- _o0o -

_He was falling, and falling, and falling._

_- _o0o -

_"…I fell from grace a long time ago."_

_- _o0o -

_A surge of pain ran through him, focused at his left eye, bringing him to a sudden stop. Someone crashed into him from behind, sending him forward in a stumble, only to get caught and steadied about halfway through it._

_"Whoa, easy there, Bean-Sprout. Watch your step."_

_Smiling faces. Why were they smiling at him?_

_Concerned faces. Why were they concerned about him?_

_"Are you alright? In pain?"_

_- _o0o -

_"As of now we are within enemy territory, our fighting force is extremely limited… I can fight, probably. Kanda will be able to fight and it's the same thing with Lavi, Bookman and Crowley. You've busted your legs and can't even walk properly, Miranda's Innocence is a defensive type at best and then we also have the three stooges over there… We're up against an army of akuma containing both Level-Twos and Level-Threes and possibly against an unknown number of Noah family members and maybe even the Earl himself if we're really unlucky. Nevertheless, I am the level of a general at best, but as far as I'm aware neither of you have managed to achieve a hundred percent synchronisation or higher, meaning that we're in some serious trouble…" he paused briefly, letting his eyes wander over their faces._

_A smile crept onto his face._

_"If you people want to go back to the lifeboats and row the Hell away from here that's your choice, although I somehow doubt you'd make it back to the main continent before your food and water rations run out, that is unless you got lucky as Hell… The odds you're going to die by continuing this foolish quest or starve to death while drifting at sea are pretty much the same either way, besides the fact that you'll probably live a bit longer if you take the boats and leave now instead of fleeing head over heels later on. I mean, thanks for the ride and all that, but I don't mind continuing to Edo alone since my Master will have my head if I don't and I'd seriously hate that."_

_Lies; they slid so easily off his tongue, making lying as easily as breathing. He had always been lying after all, both to himself and to others, but in the end it didn't matter; they wouldn't listen to what he said anyway…_

_His smile faded._

_"Taking about half of the remaining exorcist force on this wild goose chase is to be considered suicidal; even using Timcanpy's help to track him down, we'd still have to fight our way through an army of Level-Threes in order to get there, all while the man himself watches from some convenient hiding place and gives a brief toast with his wineglass at the sight of us getting ourselves killed, not lifting as much as a finger to help us. Get it? Believe me, I've known the man for years; I know how he works."_

_They still didn't seem to believe him. Fools._

_"Even in this state, it's still our mission and we need to accomplish it," Lenalee said. "No matter what."_

_Even at the cost of all of their lives?_

_He was laughing inside, laughing at their foolishness, laughing at his own foolishness for almost caring about what became of them. It was pitiful._

_He had been far too caught up in himself lately, far too caught up in his quest for revenge on the man who put him through Hell; he had lost sight of something, and been far too distracted by his thoughts to realise just when something else had crept up on him._

_- _o0o -

_"We meet again, Boy."_

_- _o0o -

_"You're weaker than last time we fought…"_

_He fought to regain his freedom of mobility, but his efforts were fruitless._

_"Are the exorcists driving you too hard?"_

_He growled._

_"Tut tut, no moving now little exorcist; that is, unless you want me to break your arm right here and now…"_

_- _o0o -

_He was falling again, falling and falling and falling, deeper and deeper into the abyss._

_Truly, it was a wonder he had yet to hit the rock bottom of it._

_How much farther did he need to fall to reach it?_

_- _o0o -

_Everything hurt, yet he felt himself becoming more and more detached from it as a kind of numbness swept through him._

"_This is enough, right?"_

_Tyki's voice, echoing in his head, mingled with other voices, raised in fear or in anger._

_Right, his numb mind eventually supplied. The exorcists…_

"_**A-llen…"**_

_He turned, coming face to face with the grinning shadow where it stood._

"_Go away. I still have time."_

_The grin just widened in response, and claw-like fingers reached for him, touching the side of his face in an almost affectionate manner._

_Allen just swatted the shadowy hand away, taking a step backwards._

"_It's not your turn yet."_

_- _o0o -

Allen's eyes shot back open, and he found himself propped up against a wall, hurting all over. With the killer migraine of a lifetime, coupled with a severe concussion if his vague and somewhat distorted impressions could be trusted, everything seemed oddly jumbled up, as though time and space did not synch properly or at least that his perception of them had been severely affected by the head injury he could vaguely recall having received earlier. Still quite disoriented, he looked up and found Tyki standing there, eyeing him with an extremely wary expression on his face, one which looked quite displaced in a face like his.

"Wha-…?" Allen attempted to ask what the Hell was going on, but he didn't get much further than that before Tyki had closed in on the distance and tilted his head slightly upwards, staring him deep into the eyes.

"Sorry about this."

Darkness.

_- _o0o -

Tyki sighed in relief when Allen's body once again fell limp, sagging against the wall as its owner slid back into unconsciousness. Then he hoisted him up, marvelling at his weight or distinct lack thereof. A snow-white head lolled to rest against his shoulder, tickling his throat slightly. With an inward shudder, he found himself recalling the amber eyes which had stared into his very soul just minutes before, eyes which clearly belonged to a being much older than himself. However, as things appeared, Allen had emerged victorious from whatever scuffle had taken place between him and the Fourteenth, and Tyki overall considered that rather fortunate, seeing that it would have been a real pity to lose a fellow poker player, not to mention losing the only vaguely sane conversationalist he had ever known.

He looked up towards the Earl, who had clearly been watching the exchange, awaiting further orders. However, he was only able to pick up a subtle sense of disappointment from the man before he himself was forced to dodge an attack aimed at his person, seeing that a few members of the exorcist party had managed to catch up to him around then.

"Stop it right there, you creep!" The Bookman Apprentice stood before him, armed and ready to attack. Still, Tyki certainly did not miss the hesitance the exorcist displayed, and neither did he miss the way said redhead's eyes more than once flickered to the eerily still and pale form held in his arms. He found himself resisting the urge to grin at this, seeing that these people showed such concern for the fate of a person who had obviously only led them there to be slaughtered like cattle by the Earl's forces.

"Oh, is he your friend?" he found himself asking, sending a meaningful glance down at his precious cargo.

"You damn bet he is! He's one of us!" the apprentice shot back, sinking even deeper into an attack position. "Now let him go, you coward."

It was all quite touching really, Tyki supposed. Somehow, in just a very small amount of time, their Allen had managed to worm himself into the camaraderie of the fools in the Order, managing it to such an extent that they considered him to be one of them now. It was all quite touching, though the latter was a grave misunderstanding on their part, seeing that there was no way Allen would ever become one of them. It was a misunderstanding – that much was self-evident – however it was not one he had been ordered to rectify. If anything, such a misunderstanding on their part might actually work in Tyki's favour…

"Let him go?" he repeated, amused. "And why would I do that?"

The apprentice gritted his teeth, growing increasingly frustrated by the looks of it. Really, without the help of their comrades, most exorcists were quite worthless seeing that they couldn't make up their mind about things. In this case, it was the quite obvious choice between attacking and risking the life of his supposed comrade, and biding his time, waiting for an opening.

Still, the exorcist was not the only one with a dilemma to handle. Tyki Mikk himself was very much aware of the fact that he, having dealt with Allen's near-awakening and thereby probably prevented him from going out of control in the middle of the battlefield, should really relocate his unconscious "hostage" to safer grounds before fully engaging into battle with the exorcists.

A slight shift in the air alerted him to an incoming attack and he shifted, summoning his Tease to surround him and to act as a shield. The Earl-made golem crowded at first before suddenly scattering, some of them cut apart by the sharp edge of a blade which announced the arrival of yet another nuisance. The newly arrived exorcist – a raven-haired warrior with a wintry expression on his face – immediately charged anew, not appearing to be concerned in the least for the "comrade" of his that Tyki was currently holding hostage. Obviously spotting this, the redheaded exorcist let out a cry of clear disapproval, but Tyki was getting far too excited to catch the exact words. Shifting his cargo a bit to get at least one of his hands completely free, he found himself smirking, letting the Tease surround it and once again form the basis of his weapon. He could feel his blood stirring as his instincts flared up, his inner being calling for blood, chaos and destruction. The smirk which had previously adorned his face gradually widened into a feral grin.

_- _o0o -

"Kanda! What the fuck are you doing?" Lavi shouted. "Are you trying to kill him?"

"So what?" Kanda replied with a snort, continuing his assault without pausing. "Collateral damage."

Lavi actually paused at this, gaping at him. Honestly, this was a battlefield, was it not?

"Collateral damage?" he repeated, unable to believe his own ears. "That's pretty cold of you."

"We're fighting a war," Kanda bit out as he was once again deflected by Tyki's shield. "Idiot."

_- _o0o -

Collateral damage?

Silver-grey eyes fluttered open for a brief second, catching a brief glimpse of his surroundings. Awareness gradually returned to him, and along with it came searing headache he could have done well without. He was held up against someone's side and jostled every now and then when said person dodged incoming attacks from the two exorcists who appeared to be nearby. A moan or something must've escaped his lips, seeing that a pair of familiar amber eyes soon glanced down at him, noting his regaining of consciousness. Tyki. What the-…?

A hand shot out and fingers wrapped themselves around his throat, threatening to crush his windpipe. Panic awoke his instincts and his instincts focused on survival, completely ignoring the fact that his mind was convinced that Tyki was only pretending to try to smother him. He lashed out, managing to land one of his fists into the man's ribs. It was a quite pathetic hit with all due honesty, and the grip on his throat only tightened. Black spots danced before his vision and a strange buzzing sound filled his ears, but even so he imagined that he was hearing voices, voices calling his name. Then, all of a sudden, the pressure on his throat disappeared, and he began his descent downwards, collapsing like a limp ragdoll. He was caught before reaching the ground though, and before he knew what was going on he was being slung over someone's shoulder as that someone took off in a mad dash. Red hair filled his vision for a moment, before he found himself eyeing the back of an exorcist uniform. "What the fuck's going on?" he found himself asking, his voice little more than a whisper.

The exorcist's mad dash came to a sudden stop, and the next moment he found himself deposited on the ground, surrounded from all sides by the worried eyes of the members of the exorcist party who weren't caught up in any immediate fights with the Earl's forces.

"Well," Lavi said, his grin widening at the still somewhat gobsmacked expression of his fellow party member. "Glad to see you back amongst the living, Sprout!"

Allen just found himself blinking somewhat dumbly at him, his brain not quite having caught up to this most recent turn of events. No really, he was positive he was experiencing the aftermath of a severe concussion or something, and from his position on the ground he had quite a view of the circle of concerned faces which were all looking down at him. Their concerns for his welfare were quite touching, even if they did not make a whole lot of sense to him.

"Are you okay, Allen?" Lenalee Lee's dark eyes peered down at him, so full of concern. It was all quite sickening, really.

_Am I okay? Do I look even remotely okay? Are you blind or are you asking me a rhetorical question?_

Allen's only response to her inquiry was a pained hiss when he sat himself up with much effort, wishing the dull pain in his body would keep him reasonably focused on the situation instead of distracting him, muddling his senses. Even so, things were rapidly clearing up for him then, like he had only then returned to some decent degree of wakefulness, and he put his raised awareness to good use in assessing his current situation and surroundings.

He found himself within the protective barrier of Miranda's Innocence, efficiently cut off from any action which was likely to be taking place beyond. Other than him and Miranda, the occupants of the barrier consisted of an obviously frustrated Lenalee Lee and the three stooges – in other words, the four most useless members of the party. Allen did not count himself to be in the same position as these four, seeing that he had actually participated in battle – admittedly, he had been on the receiving end of Tyki's quite tough love and had been quite badly defeated, but considering the circumstances and the condition he had fought the other in, it was really no surprise things had ended up the way they had. Honestly, had he lost his sense of self-preservation somewhere along the way or what?

"Damn it…" Lenalee whispered, close to tears by the looks of it. "If only I…"

Allen barely resisted the urge to snort. _If only you hadn't been reckless earlier and just died when you were supposed to… then I wouldn't have been forced to listen to your whining…_

Well, apparently the exorcists had just the slightest bit of sense in telling Lenalee – along with the other less useful members of the party – to stay within the barrier and not get in the way of the actual fighting. Really, Allen wouldn't have thought they had it in them. Common sense, that is.

In any case, it had probably not been a very easy decision to implement, considering the stubbornness of the young woman in question. Perhaps she thought she would be able to make a difference on the battlefield even without her Innocence? Perhaps she thought her mere presence would actually boost battle morale and become some sort of support for her 'friends' even though she with her presence on the battlefield would in fact be more of a burden than anything even remotely helpful.

Allen, shifting his attention from her and Miranda to the three stooges as they cowered on their knees close to the centre of the barrier, inwardly snorted at their miserable appearance. Honestly, what the Hell had he been thinking when he wasted a perfectly good opportunity to drown them all at sea? "I'm going back out there," he announced, receiving five startled looks in return.

"No!" Lenalee protested, grabbing onto his partially tattered coat. "You'll die! Lavi said you almost-…"

"Does it matter?" Allen asked, and he was honestly curious there for a second to see whether or not she would be able to find an even remotely sane argument for him to remain in there.

"But you'll die!" Lenalee protested, retaining her grip.

Allen sighed, feeling the approach of yet another migraine. _Honestly…_

"Even so," he said, raising his eyes to look at her. "If I don't go out there… there is a great possibility that the others will die and if they die, we'll all die…"

He paused, taking in her wide-eyed look and smirking inwardly at the sight of it before continuing. "I did inform you all earlier that we would all probably die if we went through with this kind of foolish quest," he said. "I told you all that it was a suicide mission and that Cross wouldn't even lift a finger to help us, but _someone_ chose not to listen to me…"

"And…" he continued, shaking himself loose and taking a step forward. "All which is left for me now is to limit the damage as much as possible…"

He took another step, pausing briefly and turning his head slightly to look at them from the corner of his eye. "I might not live through it… but there is also the possibility that I might, seeing to the fact that I am made out of quite sturdy material, believe it or not."

_- _o0o -

Taking a deep breath, Allen set about to prepare himself mentally, all while he inwardly swore that there was no bloody way anyone could ever prepare themselves enough for the obstacles he was likely about to face. Screw mental preparation, screw physical preparation; he was pretty beat up anyhow and likely suffering from a mild concussion at the very least, and even with the short time he had spent within the barrier of Miranda's Time-Out, it had been nowhere near enough in terms of time for recovery. Besides, it was only a temporary state of recovery anyhow; as soon as she deactivated it, he would no doubt collapse again and either find himself pathetically defeated by gleeful members of his own kin or nursed back to health by a bunch of annoying and equally pathetic exorcists. Truly, he had fallen, and not even in a good way. If anything, then he would have to start worrying about hitting the rock bottom sometime in the near future.

His body was still hurting all over and his head in particular felt like it was going to fall off at any time, but he still managed to keep up appearances; he was alright, kind of, or at least not about to keel over anytime soon if he had any say in the matter, which he probably didn't. Oh well…

Still, his aching body and limbs aside, Allen could not help but feel mortified as he recalled that he had not only been incapacitated by an enemy, but that he had also been carried – twice – and that the exorcists – one of them at least – had loudly proclaimed that he was their friend, that he was one of them and such, something which had served to nauseate him quite a bit. No really, the thought of being considered one of them actually made him sick to a certain degree, sick and rather offended actually. Then again, with that Kanda bastard seemingly intent on making sure he ended up as "collateral damage" of some sort, Allen was not all too sure about which one he should take greater offence to. Then again, considering the fact that the bastard in question had a stick so far up his arse it should have been coming out of his mouth, Allen found that he should probably be the most offended if he were ever put out to be said bastard's comrade, because that was not happening, ever.

Stepping out of the protective barrier, Allen was actually slightly relieved at the change atmosphere where he left the wildly protesting but still useless Lenalee Lee and the rest of the useless crew behind with Miranda and re-entered the battlefield.

Among the first things which met his eyes on the outside was Crowley standing on top of the fully transformed Chomesuke, aiming for what looked suspiciously much like a suicide attack. For a brief moment, Allen contemplated whether or not he should get involved, whether he should attempt to stop them or something, but he swiftly made the decision to leave them to their own devices and turned his eyes elsewhere. From what he could see, that Kanda bastard was busy battling Skin Bolic all while Lavi appeared to be busying himself with Tyki, leaving Bookman to deal with the remaining giants. Those giants…

Merely looking at them was a sickening experience, since that dreadful curse of his was acting up and ended up showing him far more than he would have wanted to see. Tortured souls writhed in agony in those monstrous creations, screaming, pleading to be let out; to be set free. Allen thought he was going to be sick right then and there but he steeled himself against the impulse and turned his eyes skywards instead, where the Earl was still hovering about with his umbrella, accompanied by Lulubell and the twins. They were looking at him; he could tell. They were waiting for his next move no doubt, and that course of action would no doubt determine the reception he would be getting from them once the battle was over with. He knew that, but he still found that his eyes turned elsewhere, looking towards the blobs of tortured souls which were contained within those horrible constructions. No really, a part of him wanted little more than to raise his hand and wave at the Earl, informing the man that he had grown sick of fooling around and was ready to return and receive his punishment, but another part of him wanted nothing more than to quickly take off in direction of those tortured souls. They both called to him; he could sense it, but the latter's calls were different and decidedly more hurtful than the former's. They screamed, their agony manifesting itself within him through the curse; truly, it was dreadful.

This was really no time for him to waver, not even in the slightest. He was trapped and he knew it, and he hated it with all his heart even though he had known that it was only a question of time before he would start to experience things like that. It was a lose-lose situation for him; it was either going against his family or going against his purpose, either the family or himself. Still, those screams…

His left arm twitched slightly before his Innocence cloak flared back into existence as it activated. The mask fell over his eyes of its own accord and he knew, he knew, and that was that. Dashing off, he set about to put an end to those screams; once they were out of his way, then maybe he would be able to think more clearly when they were not splitting his head apart. He jumped, seemingly defying gravity along the way, and soon enough he was upon one of those created giants. Regular attacks did not do much to them, but he had already anticipated that; they were slow and not particularly intelligent, but sturdy enough to be a problem. Gritting his teeth, Allen considered his options; after all, he still had one more weapon at his disposal even without attempting to make use of his inherent abilities as a Noah. Still, if he could, he would have preferred not to make use of it.

He swore under his breath. Oh, how far he had fallen…

_- _o0o -

_"Allen… I love you…"_

_- _o0o -

It felt strange and a bit awkward but still oddly relieving when he reshaped his arm and pulled the sword from it. His ears were so filled with screams so that he really could not hear much beyond them, but even so he could clearly sense the surge of a great variety of feelings from beyond. Surprise, shock, joy, sadness and rage, they all whirled around him as he – from his position on top of one of the giants – brought his sword down upon its head; he was not even surprised at the fact that it cut into it so easily, breaking through its hardened shell before sinking deeper into it. His lips moved, but even he was unable to tell which words made it over his lips, and after that he pulled his sword out while jumping backwards and away from it right before it exploded on him. For a brief moment, he found himself freefalling in seeming darkness, but then the screams returned and he opened his eyes again to see the remaining giant as it suddenly reached towards him. He was just about to once more summon the protection of his Innocence, but before he was able to something else alerted him. _Threads?_

A bunch of threads looking disturbingly much like piano wire had appeared seemingly out of nowhere to restrain the second giant, and although this certainly puzzled him to some extent Allen still decided to make use of the giant's lack of mobility as he shot a bunch of his own threads in direction of the hand which had been reaching for him only moments previously, attaching himself only for as long as he needed in order to halt his own descent before using the threads to thrust himself skywards once more. He let go then, soaring in the skies for couple of seconds all while he readjusted his grip on the sword before bringing it down onto the head of the second giant. The process was repeated and then he was falling again. His Innocence drew close to him then, as if preparing to shield him from the impact with the ground; it gave off a strangely warm feeling, as though signalling that it was content with what he had done, but although the gesture was likely meant to reassure, Allen found that he was not quite able to take it to heart seeing to the fact that he knew what kind of repercussions likely awaited him later on.

Having slowed his descent on the way down, Allen's feet impacted on the ground with a soft thud, but he nearly crumbled then and there once he did. The screams had disappeared off into the distance, but in the vacuum they had left behind, the world came rushing in and he was momentarily confused by it all before his senses resynchronised with both the world and with each other. His heartbeat was all over the place and so was his breathing, and pathetically enough he found that he was barely able to remain standing. Waves of fatigue came rushing in, but he forced them back, forcing himself to take deep calm breaths at regular intervals to keep himself from hyperventilating. He straightened up some, keeping the mask on his face and the sword still in hand, only then really noticing the dark-skinned man wearing a travelling cloak and an exorcist uniform who stood a bit further away. Allen regarded the man only for a couple of seconds and was seemingly regarded in the same manner, but having determined that the man in question was not there to attack him Allen soon turned his eyes elsewhere. A chill ran down his spine and he looked up towards Edo castle, his eyes immediately zeroing in on the steadily growing black orb which hovered there. It took less than a second for him to realise what it was and he turned, affirming that the Noah had temporarily retreated from the battlefield. _Shit._

"People!" he found himself shouting, barely even recognising his own voice. "Those of you who can run, head towards the barrier and hurry! Those of you who can't, brace yourselves because this is going to hurt!"

For once, those idiots – even Kanda – appeared to heed his warning. Allen almost found himself laughing at this, even as his legs folded beneath him. Then suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder and he looked up only to find the dark-skinned exorcist there. "Go," Allen said, pushing the hand away. "You might still make it if you run. If you bring me along neither of us will."

Apparently, this newest idiot – whoever he was – did not appear to be even slightly impressed by his splendid reasoning. The hand returned and was soon accompanied by another, but he shoved them both away while rising to his feet, staggering a bit as he did so. A bout of light-headedness struck him then and he nearly dropped back down once it did. The world tilted dangerously in his vision for a second and he could feel his Innocence shift back into its regular shape; truth to be told, he was surprised he was able to keep it activated at all in his condition. Once the world had shifted back into focus somewhat, he found himself heavily supported by the unknown exorcist. He looked up, finding that only seconds remained before the black orb would expand drastically and swallow them all as well, and in that second his sense of self-preservation took over completely. His Innocence flared back to life and the cloak expanded slightly, growing big enough to shield both himself and the person who was by then responsible for holding him upright. He had only just gotten his shield up before it was hit and he really felt it. The impact lasted only for a second or so, but once it had gone past them his shield almost instantly collapsed on itself and he went down with it, coughing violently. His Innocence having deactivated, he sagged against the side of that other exorcist, barely conscious. Apparently, taking a hit from that thing – whatever it had been – had caused him more damage than he normally would have expected. He forced his eyes open, trying to breathe. There was blood in his mouth and on his hands and likely elsewhere as well; he really couldn't tell.

Then, he sensed something else rushing towards him. His eyes snapped wide open when he realised what it was, or rather who. His brain immediately snapped back into gear and his Innocence with it, although Allen could tell that his body would not be holding for much longer. He should give up while he still could; he should just give up and allow himself to be taken, regardless of the punishment which no doubt awaited him. Still…

His mask fell back into place, and collecting what little energy he could bring forth he dashed off, switching his body and Innocence onto autopilot while he was at it; he knew he could not allow himself to be distracted, that he could not allow himself to falter, because if he did then that would be the end of it.

_- _o0o -

Dark Matter clashed against Innocence, grinding against each other like pieces of steel; the weapons were each other's reflection, one being the reverse of the other. Neither weapon could be said to be stronger than the other, but when it came to the powers of wielder Allen knew well that he was at a severe disadvantage; his injuries and his fatigue aside, his opponent was still more skilled and was also able to make use of both hands instead of just one.

"Long time no see, dear Allen," the Earl chuckled, grinning as widely as ever as he watched him struggle. "Say, is it not well past time to bring this game to an end?"

"Really?" Allen hissed back at him as their swords were momentarily caught in a deadlock. "I thought we had just gotten started."

The other's grin seemingly broadened, and the Earl applied more pressure while Allen steadfastly refused to be pushed back. "Is that so?" the Earl chuckled, applying even more pressure. "Then…" he continued, suddenly retracting his sword and sending Allen, who had by no means anticipated it, right into him. Taking advantage of the white-haired teen's surprise, the Earl immediately slammed him down into the ground – or rather, the strange black surface which had been left behind after the orb had damaged the area – and secured a chokehold on him. "Let's play for a little longer…"

Allen mustered a glare, seeing that he barely had enough air to spit something back at him. Then, suddenly faced with the glaring hole in his own rather sloppily executed plan, he felt something snap within him. His eyes narrowed even further and he opened his mouth. "If you kill me…" he gasped, feeling the pressure on his windpipe increase. "I'll… take Him with me."

The ever-present glint of madness in the Earl's eyes flickered a bit, and for a second Allen found himself expecting the man to apply that last bit of pressure which would likely kill him, but in the next the pressure suddenly eased up and then the hold on him was relinquished entirely as the man withdrew, looking at him strangely. Even in the state he was, Allen could have sworn that there was fear hiding in those eyes, even though the concept of the Earl fearing anyone seemed utterly ridiculous.

Still, even though he had been temporarily saved from death – or at least from asphyxiation – Allen found that he was in no condition to continue. Still, having regained at least some freedom of mobility, he managed to get onto his side and attempted to push himself up from there. It was futile; he was already spent. His Innocence had deactivated and he didn't even have the strength to push himself back up; honestly, how pathetic was that?

Then, suddenly sensing danger, he looked up and found the Earl standing there right above him with his sword in hand. Suddenly, reality shifted, and he remembered that day, the day they had met out in the graveyard. Briefly, perhaps due to his fading consciousness, he found himself wondering whether or not the Earl also remembered that day, that snowy day when his Hell began.

_- _o0o -

_"Mana Walker… Shall I resurrect him for you?"_

_- _o0o -

_"Can you do that?"_

_- _o0o -

_"I'm the Earl of the Millennium… I can bring him back to life… All you need to do is to call out his name and Mana Walker will be revived."_

_- _o0o -

He took one last shuddering breath. _Liar._

Then he passed out.

_- _o0o -


	11. The Crumbling Ark

**(Edited 22/1-13)**

_- _o0o -

**The Crumbling Ark**

_- _o0o -

Truly, he had fallen. He had fallen in many different ways, stooping low enough to associate with people he truly despised, disobeying orders and fleeing from the punishment he rightfully deserved for his insolence.

Truly, he had fallen, but even in hindsight he had trouble condemning himself and his actions, seeing that quite a few of them had felt strangely liberating even though they had actually stemmed from him disobeying the very person who had taken him in and trained him.

Even so, however liberating those actions may have seemed for his conscience, they still weighed heavily on him in other ways, and even so, he was by no means blind to the fact that those very actions were the ones which only steered him deeper into trouble, slowly but certainly trapping him while imaginary threads spun from his own lies were only reinforcing the cage which was slowly but certainly forming around him. It was not a place he wanted to be in, not even with the dangers lurking outside of it.

_- _o0o -

_"If you kill me… I'll take Him with me."_

_- _o0o -

Truly, what had he been thinking?

_- _o0o -

He awoke to the sound of voices, but kept his eyes shut and simply listened, trying to figure out the situation he apparently had at hand. The voices were somewhat hushed up, but there was little difficulty in him identifying them as those belonging to members of the Cross party. There was an unfamiliar voice in there as well; it sounded like it belonged to an older man if Allen's brain was still working properly. "I only came to Japan in order to find more accommodators," the voice said. "I'm not the least interested in aiding that man…"

_That man? Cross?_

"He considers people other than himself as mere tools, you know?" the voice continued. "You were supposed to be his guards, yet you ended up being used as decoys by him and his modified akuma instead, understand?"

_What?_

Silver-grey eyes snapped open, seemingly of their own accord, but not due to his surprise at the exorcists having been used as decoys by the bastard – he had expected as much – but due to his surprise at actually encountering a seemingly sensible person in the Order. Really, he could barely believe it.

A familiar redhead popped into his line of vision, seemingly having noticed his return to wakefulness. "Yo, Allen!" Lavi grinned. "How's your head?"

That was a decidedly stupid question. Well, his head was not hurting entirely as much as it had earlier, so Allen deemed it a general improvement. Then again, it was probably just a temporary one, seeing that he could see a fidgety Miranda sitting nearby with her still activated Innocence. No really, how long had he been out and what had happened in the meantime?

"My head's fine," he finally responded, wincing as he attempted to sit up. "Why are you asking?"

"Well…" Lavi said, sounding quite amused. "I thought you must've gotten quite a nasty headache after that Noah flung you into the wall and all…" – He paused, his seeming amusement fading a bit before he continued, sounding almost concerned about him. – "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Allen responded, even though he sincerely doubted he seemed very convincing as he was too busy cradling his still aching head in his hands to look up when he answered.

"Really?"

"Really," Allen affirmed, lifting his head to direct his gaze towards the people who had been talking earlier. "I think I'll live."

_- _o0o -

Apparently, the exorcists had put up some sort of temporary camp beneath some bridge located right outside the area which had been affected by that black orb from earlier. Apparently, they were huddled together – licking their wounds, probably – all while talking to the newly arrived allies, one of them being the dark-skinned exorcist Allen had briefly encountered earlier and the other being a glasses-wearing man with messy hair, dressed up in a similar travelling attire but with a general's uniform underneath. Frowning mildly, Allen attempted to figure out which one of the generals could possibly be before him, giving him a look which proved surprisingly difficult to read. "Speaking of which…" the man – finally identified as General Tiedoll – said, directing himself to Allen. "That was an impressive thing you did back there."

Allen said nothing, giving the man an odd look in return all while secretly wondering what the man could possibly be referring to. "Well, what else am I to call it?" Tiedoll continued, seemingly amused by his seeming confusion and lack of response. "It does take certain qualities in a person to take someone like the Earl head-on; it takes courage."

_Oh right, that one._ Allen smiled sardonically in return. "Courage… or outright foolishness, and truth to be told I would probably bet on the latter, General Tiedoll."

Hearing his statement, several members of the party looked up in surprise. The general himself did not seem all that surprised though, looking very much like he had expected that kind of response from him. Then again, considering the fact that the man appeared to be quite familiar with the true nature of his former master, General Tiedoll was probably way more perceptive than he gave the impression of being, which was saying much considering the fact that Allen had already pegged him as a man of proper reason even though he had only just met him. The man was certainly no fool, although his general looks and the way he held himself likely gave people another impression; he was sharp, and Allen could sense it. Sharp, but not malevolent.

"Hoh…" the man said after a while, sounding thoughtful. "What makes you say that? From what I can see, you're the hero of the day, yet you don't seem to identify yourself as such… Got any particular reason for that?"

_Far too many._ Allen's smile turned slightly bitter. "A hero?" he repeated. "Don't make me laugh."

"How so?" the general questioned good-naturedly, making himself heard over the scattered protests to Allen's latest statement. "You do fulfil certain requirements, don't you think?"

Allen snorted in sheer disbelief and partial disgust, deciding to go along with the impromptu interrogation. "Being a hero is just one step away from being a martyr," he then said, using his fingertips to massage his aching head, touching upon the bandage which was apparently wrapped around it. "I have no wish to be one either."

A clear snort was heard from elsewhere and Allen looked up, catching Kanda's glare before the man abruptly turned away.

"Yeah, about that…" General Tiedoll began, scratching his head. "In being an exorcist you are technically one of them already, don't you think?"

Silver-grey eyes turned towards him, narrowing slightly. "You forget… I am not an official member of anything," Allen pointed out, mentally adding _"and I have no intention of joining either"_ to it.

"Well, you're Cross' elusive apprentice, so that's close enough," Tiedoll readily admitted, adjusting his glasses a bit. "Besides, you can always get registered once we get back to Headquarters…"

_No… way… in… Hell._ "Once?" Allen found himself repeating. "Not 'if'?"

Lavi caught him by surprise when the redhead suddenly jumped up and proceeded to shake him by the shoulders. "You've got to be just a bit more optimistic, Sprout!" he insisted. "You went head to head with the Earl and lived! That ought to account for something, right?"

"It ought to account for the fact that I am a reckless fool with a severely lacking sense of self-preservation," Allen finally grunted out, extremely nauseated by the sudden motion; it appeared as though his suspected concussion – now a confirmed concussion – was still going strong, even though it had been a light one to begin with.

"What a pessimist!" Lavi said all while other members of the group agreed to his sentiment by nodding. "Honestly, Allen… your pessimism puts you on par with Yu in terms of negativity."

Allen bristled, trying to pry those hands away from his shoulders without being able to. "It's called realism, you _arse_," he hissed.

"Realist or not… You did something awesome," Lavi insisted, retaining his hold on him. Honestly, Allen was positive the man would attempt hugging him at any minute. Now that, if nothing else, was a sickening thought and an utterly disturbing one at that.

"That was no more awesome than any other accomplishments I have managed in my life up until this point," Allen then responded, deadpan. "If anything… I count my survival at the hands of Cross to be much more of a miracle than any of the events which took place here."

…And he probably should not just have said that. _Shit._

Immediately, all eyes – even Kanda's – turned on him. Most looked a bit taken aback – Lavi were among them, having relinquished his grip and actually backed away a bit – but General Tiedoll just leaned forward in clear interest. "Your survival at the hands of Cross?" he said, adjusting his glasses once more. "Now I'm curious. Tell me all about it."

_Okay. Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic, don't… Aw screw it, improvise._ He took a deep breath, looking up to face his audience. "No," he responded, gritting his teeth. "I do not dwell on the past; I just move forward."

The group just continued to look at him, and he could clearly determine from the way they were looking that they had no intention of taking no for an answer. "Come on… if you count it as your greatest accomplishment then there ought to be something to it," Lavi insisted, butting back into the conversation. "I'm dying of curiosity…"

Allen sent him a flat look. "Then I'll be sure to bring some flowers to your funeral… if I manage to live through this."

"Come on… I'm curious," the redhead insisted, probably speaking the mind of several others besides himself. "Why is it so impressive?"

_Why indeed?_ A wry smile formed on Allen's lips. "Okay fine, I'll bite," he then said, keeping his voice dry. "You want the reason for why I consider my survival at the hands of Cross to be one of my greatest accomplishments in life, yes?"

"Yes," Lavi responded, smiling somewhat awkwardly, likely picking up on the slightly dangerous tone hidden in Allen's voice. "So… what's the reason?"

Allen's smile widened, but it did not reach his eyes. "Mildly put, Cross Marian… is a mean drunk," he then said, sounding eerily cheerful all of a sudden. They wanted an answer, so they would get one: The ugly truth. "He had a certain tendency to get violent."

"Violent? You mean he…" They looked towards him in utter disbelief, some even in pity. Kanda's eyes narrowed somewhat while Tiedoll closed his instead and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yes," Allen affirmed, still retaining his forced cheerfulness, enjoying the way a few of them visibly cringed. "I could show you the scars, but they're really all that remain; cuts heal and bruises fade, and that's really all there is to it."

Lenalee Lee looked at him, her eyes wide like she had never seen him before, like she honestly could not believe the things he was implying. "You mean… he tried to kill you?" she gasped out.

"Tried?" His smile widened, because the look on her face was actually quite amusing. "He almost succeeded. Didn't seem to remember a thing afterwards though, once he sobered up a bit."

She looked appropriately horrified at this and he could see tears beginning to form in her eyes. "…Then why?"

"Why what?" he asked, genuinely curious as to why she would break down and cry just like that. But of course, she was one of those hypersensitive busybodies he honestly did not fancy hanging out with. Really, why hadn't he just pushed her overboard back then? It had been the opportunity of a lifetime.

"Then why did you stay as his apprentice?" she asked, her voice lowering to a mere whisper. "Why did you…? Why on earth did you..?"

He just continued smiling at her, oddly content with the thought that he was making her suffer.

Her eyes grew wider again, as though she had suddenly realized something. "Oh… don't tell me… don't tell me you…"

Bingo.

His smile broadened. "I hated him; I'll admit that much," he readily admitted. "I hated him, but I moved forward and that's where our paths diverged from each other. I went on with my life and my own mission, but then I found something out… something which changed everything… and I went to seek him out."

"For what purpose?"

Allen looked up in direction of the voice, meeting Kanda's glare from a bit further away. Then he tilted his head slightly to the side, retaining his smile. "You see…" he said. "As I believe you are already aware, Cross Marian is a man on a mission… and for better or worse, I am stuck helping him complete it."

_Sort of, all while plotting the man's demise while working with his enemies._

"Right… that top-secret mission, was it?" Lavi said, harboring a hint of suspicion beneath it all.

Allen allowed his smile to diminish, replacing it with a look of sheer indifference. "That top-secret mission was the reason Cross dropped off the face of the earth, and that mission is also the reason as to why he picked me up and made me his apprentice," he said, matching his voice to the expression on his face. "Cross's got no patience for children… or teens for that matter, but in order to accomplish his mission he made an exception… and that exception is me. Now… unfortunately for him, he failed to control his intake of alcohol enough for me to continue entrusting him with my life."

_And enough to make me hate him with passion and plot to have him assassinated, but that's a side-note._

"Hang on a sec," Lavi said, leaning forward in interest. "The reason he picked you up is…?"

It was a tricky question, but surprisingly enough Allen knew just what to say. "He never told me anything," he said, shrugging mildly. "But I assume it's the same reason as the reason why the Earl would rather see me captured than killed."

Hopefully, that last bit still applied, seeing that the Earl had not gone through with his seeming ambition of choking him earlier.

"And that reason is…?" Lavi began before shaking his head slightly. "No wait… Let me guess; classified, isn't it?"

Allen smiled bleakly, but inwardly he was laughing. "Think whatever you must," he said.

Lavi positively pouted at this. "Eeeh? So you mean to say that you're something special, eh?"

Allen just shrugged. "Special? I don't know. One of a kind, certainly."

_You lot have no bloody idea…_

Once again, the redhead's next course of action caught him by surprise as the Bookman apprentice just let out a thoughtful hum. "Hoh… so that's what it was all about then…"

Silently cursing his own curiosity, Allen found himself staring. "Mind explaining what you're referring to?"

No really, what was the idiot referring to?

As the Bookman apprentice continued giving him this strange look, Allen found himself growing more and more uneasy, wondering what on earth the idiot could possibly referring to. Could he possibly…

"Nah, nothing much… I was just curious," the redhead finally yielded, continuing to give him that look of his, giving off this vibe that the other had just been made privy to this awesome secret. "That Noah… you know, the one with the perm…"

Allen froze momentarily in his movements, waiting for the other to continue while secretly dreading it at the same time.

"…He made this really interesting face back then when he'd slammed you into that wall…"

Now Allen hoped his relief was not as visible as he feared it was. "Interesting face?" he inquired.

"Yeah…" Lavi continued somewhat thoughtfully, seemingly unaware of the fact that he was the main focus of attention. "Like he had woken up a monster of some sort."

_A monster?_ Allen felt like laughing at that, but he let out an amused snort instead. "A monster?" he then said, tilting his head to the side. "Well, I suppose that's fairly accurate in a sense."

_Well, accurate enough._

"Accurate?" someone – not Lavi – repeated, eyeing him in seeming wonder and just a hint of fear. "How so?"

A smile found its way to his face. "You'll see."

The exorcist general coughed slightly. "Is that a promise…" he then wondered out loud, giving him a look. "Or is it a warning?"

Allen merely shrugged in response. "It is whatever you make of it."

Having said that, Allen had no intention whatsoever of giving a more elaborate explanation; he surely did not owe them one and all in all it was far better for them to be left in the dark as far as he cared. Surely, those who had seen him in action would probably believe that this 'monster' of his had something to do with his Innocence rather than with anything else. They would see a powerful Innocence and hopefully not look much deeper into it, because if they did and found out about him being the host of the Fourteenth then they would surely freak. Then again, considering the fact that not all members of the Order were disgustingly naïve and severely lacking in common sense and logical ability, it would probably be in his best interest to cease his association with them while they were still in the dark. Besides, seeing to the fact that he had only ended up with them due to a nasty coincidence and an act of disobedience, he should really get back to his main goal – finding Cross and extracting his revenge – before heading back to his current master and facing what no doubt awaited him there. Truly, he needed to get his loyalties sorted out and his priorities set straight, and loitering around with the exorcists were not amongst those priorities as far as he was aware.

Timcanpy fluttered about above his head, seemingly restless, indicating that Cross had to be nearby. Allen held out his hand towards it, his palm held upwards.

_- _o0o -

No really, Allen was not entirely sure as to what he was going to do when the exorcists suddenly appeared to realise that they had no chance in winning and ought to retreat before they all got themselves killed. This rather sudden change of attitude and direction had mostly been brought about by the sensible opinion of General Tiedoll, who had basically laid out all the cold hard facts and told the group of idealists that they were basically going to get themselves slaughtered in case they intended on staying around for much longer – he did not quite put it that way, but the basic idea was the same – efficiently shutting up Lenalee as she opened her mouth to submit some kind of protest. Hence, the members of the exorcist party were currently in the process of assembling their meagre belongings in case the event of an imminent departure would arise, and Allen was secretly relishing in the fact that he would soon have them out of his hair and be free to pursue Cross now that the members of the Order had seemingly given up on the man. His mouth twitched slightly as he suppressed a smile, something which only became harder once it came to mind that the exorcist party was likely going to get slaughtered on the way anyhow, seeing that the Earl's akuma had likely made sure that they had no boats left – Allen hoped so at least, but if not then he supposed there was an overhanging chance they would end up going down at sea anyhow if there was any sort of justice in the world. Then again, taking into consideration that things rarely ever went his way, Allen found himself approached by a certain red-haired Bookman apprentice.

"Hey Allen… What do you think?" Lavi asked, grinning somewhat awkwardly. "Should we take the chance to retreat now and retaliate later or should we continue the mission?"

Allen spent a brief moment just looking at him, only then really noticing the bruises and other visible injuries the other had, attesting to the redhead's earlier battle with Tyki. Then he snorted, directing his eyes elsewhere. "As I believe I have already informed you, I only move forward," he said, looking back at him with clear disinterest. "Do whichever you like, but I'm staying right here."

"But Allen!" Lenalee protested, obviously having overheard them. She was leaning heavily onto one of the three stooges, since her legs had yet to become reasonably functional. "If you stay here alone, you'll get yourself killed!"

He turned towards her, smiling benevolently, silently thankful of the fact that he had made a speedy recovery from the majority of his immediate ailments. Now he was perfectly able to move around and walk in a straight line without being overcome with either pain or dizziness or something equally annoying; it was likely largely accredited to the influence of Miranda's Innocence though and things would likely turn around once that influence no longer reached him. Then again, once that time came then it probably would not matter much if he collapsed, seeing to the fact that the Earl probably would not kill him and as such he probably would not be the subject to any attacks while he was still vulnerable either, hence lowering the risk of him getting himself killed. "Perhaps… perhaps not. Only time will tell," he finally said, shrugging mildly. "Besides, I did manage pretty fine on my own until you lot turned up… so good riddance."

A snort was heard behind him. "As if."

Allen turned, sending an intentionally unfriendly look in the direction of the raven-haired exorcist. "What was that, bastard? If you have an opinion, then share it with the rest of the class."

He was met by silence at first. Eyes were directed towards him, all while the person he had addressed rolled his eyes before crossing his arms, glaring at him. "In withdrawing," Kanda Yu put forth, pausing briefly before continuing, keeping his voice surprisingly level. "We'll be abandoning the mission which brought us here in the first place… our mission to retrieve Cross Marian…"

The exorcist general hummed in agreement, rubbing his chin while staring intently at Allen who instinctively tensed, sensing he was not going to like what the other was about to say. "Indeed, you raise an interesting point, Yu," General Tiedoll said. "Cross Marian is a bastard but he is still a general, and losing another general will be quite a heavy blow for the Order…"

Eyes narrowing slightly, the white-haired teen opened his mouth to speak. "You can't be serious."

General Tiedoll just smiled at him, benevolently yet strangely calculating at the same time. "Unfortunately, we've been a bit short on staff lately, so it'd be hard for us to ignore the presence of a Critical Point-Breaker if he stands here right before us."

"It'd be even harder for us to ignore a person whose Innocence has been prophesized as the future Destroyer of Time, don't you think?" Lavi added in, smiling broadly.

_No way._ "Again, you can't be serious," Allen said, frowning openly at them. "If you are, then stress must have impaired your sense of judgement. Honestly."

"Still… it sounds fair, doesn't it?" someone – Crowley – suddenly put forth, earning several hums of agreement.

"A new general for a lost general equals plus minus zero," Lavi continued, his grin widening at the sight of Allen's face paling.

Apparently, those imbeciles in the Order were not entirely lacking in a sense of logic after all. It should have been reassuring to him; it should have restored his faith in humanity or whatever, but he found that it terrified him instead. No really, he was in utter disbelief and it probably showed. "You've all gone barking mad on me, haven't you?" he said, forcing himself to calm down and to deal with the situation like an adult instead of doing something utterly disgraceful. "Or was there even the tiniest bit of sense in you in the first place?"

That last part had possibly been a rhetorical question on his part, but someone apparently decided to answer it anyhow. "Well, you know what they say…"

No really, Allen actually backed a step and then another, steadily moving close to the point where he would set about to abandon his pride in favour of turning around to flee right then and there. Apparently, the people he had previously labelled idiots had at some point anticipated this, since he found himself backing right into someone broad, tall and muscular. A pair of heavy hands landed on his shoulders, gripping them gently but firmly. Allen tilted his head back, only then really identifying his captor as that dark-skinned exorcist he had foolishly saved earlier. No really, was God or Fate or whatever screwing with him or something? Why did all his random acts of unintentional mercy end up blowing up in his face?

He was trapped, and he knew it, and he did not like it one bit.

Taking a deep breath, he screwed his eyes shut and forced himself not to panic; his opponents were just exorcists, and there was really no reason for him to fear them to such an extent. Even if one of them was a general, there really should not be any reason for him to fret much at all. Really, why?

Suddenly, he could felt something shift in his surroundings. Only seconds later, his cursed eye suddenly activated and he opened his eyes again, only to be met by the surprised and somewhat shocked visages of his companions – no, of the exorcists and their useless tagalongs. There was another shift in his surroundings, much closer this time, and Allen instinctively knew what was about to take place. Seeing his chance, he activated his Innocence and used the moment of surprise to break free. However, he had only taken just a few steps in the other direction before there was a third shift in his surroundings, following which a big black hole – a portal – opened up right beneath his feet, spreading wider. He caught the first couple of syllables to what sounded like a curse before he was swallowed by it. Temporarily caught inside a black limbo as he was, Allen allowed himself a sigh of relief, but as things turned out his relief was a short-lived one as his descent into the blackness was temporarily halted by a hand which then proceeded to start pulling him back upwards. A wordless curse made it past his lips.

_- _o0o -

_He was falling again._

_Truly, it was a wonder he had yet to hit the rock bottom of it._

_How much farther did he need to fall in order to reach it?_

_Or perhaps he had only failed to realise that he had been there all along?_

_- _o0o -

Of all things Allen had been expecting when he opened his eyes, to see the sky within the Ark flash by briefly before his eyes before he found it obscured by the people who came raining down from it. Only keen reflexes on his part prevented him from ending up at the very bottom of the pile which formed once said people made their not very graceful landing, but even so that did not mean he was able to escape it completely. He cursed inwardly, trying to wriggle himself free from beneath a pile of mostly unmoving bodies; the unexpected shift in dimensions had probably stunned them temporarily, and Allen wanted to milk that opportunity for whatever it was worth and get himself the Hell away from them before they recovered from it. Even so, it appeared as though he would have no such luck in his endeavour.

Somewhere above him, the redheaded exorcist shifted with a groan, clutching his head. "Ugh… What did I do last night?"

"This place is…?" someone else began, and Allen found himself ceasing his struggles to break free as the pile above him shifted slightly; it would have been a waste of energy if he hadn't.

"Curious…" another – Bookman – noted, looking around with eerily calculating eyes.

Allen continued to swear inwardly where he lay down with his cheek resting against the pavement until the person sitting right on top of him finally snapped out of it and paid attention to their surroundings. "Oh, Allen!" Lenalee Lee gasped, leaning down over him. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy," Allen snapped. "Now please fuck off."

"I'm sorry I landed on top of you!" the dumb broad went on, still not removing herself from his back. "Am I really that heavy?"

"Yes!" he snapped back, glaring at her. "Now get off!"

Finally, the girl seemed to get the fact that he actually wanted her off his back in a quite literal sense and finally removed herself from it, fussing over him as she did so. Allen seriously wanted to smack her.

"Really… what is this place?" someone else said, gathering the brunt of his attention. "Looks like a city of some sort…"

He rolled his eyes at the guy – it was one of the three stooges, as could be expected from that degree of stupidity.

"How did we end up here anyway?" Lavi asked, scanning their surroundings with keen interest. "The ground just opened up and swallowed us…"

_Swallowed me_, Allen inwardly corrected, eyes narrowing in distaste. _You lot just tagged along for the ride._

"Right…" the redhead continued, seemingly stepping up as the impromptu leader seeing that no one else seemed to be up to the task. "So are all of us here or did anyone manage not to get swallowed up?"

Allen, rising to his feet, did a quick headcount, inwardly drawing a slight sigh of relief as he did so. "Tiedoll and two of the three stooges are not here, so they probably got away."

…Meaning that there was no bloody general for him to worry about at the present moment, which was a good thing overall.

Lavi scratched his head, a bit uncomfortable by the looks of it. "Yeah… probably."

"Thank God…" someone else added.

"So what is this place anyway?" Lavi went on, continuing to study his surroundings with much interest before turning back to his companions. "Any qualified guesses?"

A single green eye landed on Allen, and silver-grey ones narrowed in response. He opened his mouth, fully intent on snapping at him, but before he had managed to say anything he caught another shift in his surroundings and turned. His eyes narrowed at the sight which awaited him.

"By means of useful information…" the Noah of Pleasure remarked as he leant lazily onto one of Road's doors, next to the girl herself where she stood, leaning onto Lero. "You are currently within the Noah's Ark, otherwise known as the cradle of humanity. Interesting, huh?"

"Damned Noah…" someone – the grumpy samurai – hissed, and Allen was rather surprised when said exorcist stepped up next to him – sword in hand – and then proceeded to put out his other hand out to shove him back to the others, much like a shepherd's dog does to a sheep which has strayed too far away from the rest of the pack. It was a highly amusing notion, even though Allen could not help but feel mildly offended by it. After all, he had no desire whatsoever to be lumped together with the rest of them, even though he had initially gone around playing his part as a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"My… what hostility; it makes my blood tingle," Road said, smiling almost sweetly at them. "So how about it, exorcists?"

"How about what?" some dumb idiot – take a guess – asked.

"How about a game?" the Noah of Dreams clarified, tilting her head to the side, only to be met by utter bewilderment.

"Huh?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Sighing inwardly, Allen stepped forward, sidestepping the samurai who had only just pushed him back. He looked up at the two Noah where they stood. "A game?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow to emphasise his question.

"Yes, a game," Tyki Mikk affirmed, smirking. "What do you say about it, Boy?"

His eyebrow nearly twitched in response. "I'd rather not."

Games involving members of the Noah family were not famous for ending well after all, not at all…

Tyki's smirk broadened noticeably. "Oh, did I say you lot had any choice in the matter?" he said smugly, waving a finger at him. "I think not. A game it is and participation is mandatory… and no cheating this time around; you won't be able to cheat your way out of this one, Boy."

So they wanted to play a game, did they? Had the Earl ordered them to or was this just something they had chosen to involve themselves in on their own? Either way, Allen wanted no part of it, not if he could avoid it.

"That surely depends on whether or not you're playing fairly," he shot back, challenging them. "If you won't play fair, neither will I."

The Noah of Pleasure let out a low whistle. "No worries; we won't cheat. I cannot guarantee its exact fairness, but if you play along and win then you might even make it out of this place alive."

_You might_. Allen's eyebrow twitched noticeably this time around, all while he quenched a sudden impulse to strangle the man who had given rise to it. He sighed, schooling his features to a deadpan expression. "And if we don't play along?"

"Then you'll die… eventually," Tyki readily admitted, pulling a key from his pocket and holding it up for them all to see. "You want an exit, right? Three keys leading to three doors, the last of them being the exit, meaning that you need to win these keys if you want to get closer to the exit…" he paused briefly, sending a sideway look at Road before turning his attention back to the key. "As an act of charity, I'll let you have this one. You have… less than three hours to get out, because once those hours are up… well… this place will have crumbled by then."

So it was all another test then.

_- _o0o -

Once the Noah had vacated the scene, disappearing back through Road's door, Allen swiftly retrieved the key, studying it with genuine distaste; this was far from the first time he had ever been stuck somewhere courtesy of Road and the others, however, being stuck under circumstances where he possibly risked being plunged into a state of non-existence was something else entirely. Then again, judging from the seeming reaction of the exorcists, they probably hadn't experienced anything quite like it before either.

"Three… hours?"

"Less than three hours?"

Disbelief coloured their voices, and Allen let out a snort, turning away to head off in direction of the next door.

"Eh? Allen, what are you-…?"

He turned towards them once more, watching them watching him with some very annoying expressions on their faces. "Then, I'll excuse myself and go ahead." Bowing lightly, he turned away once more and headed for the door, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, wait just a minute," Lavi insisted, tightening his hold. "We're in this together, remember?"

"We are?" Allen responded somewhat sarcastically.

"Yeah, we are," Lavi went on, trying to look him in the eye, something which proved to be rather difficult for him since Allen kept averting his. "So we've got to cooperate, right?"

"Why?" Allen questioned, his tone of voice treading between that of feigned ignorance and that of genuine sarcasm.

"A valid point," the grumpy samurai snorted. "I don't know what the stupid rabbit is blathering about."

"Oh, Yu… not you too!"

Of all people to support him, why was it the grumpy raven-haired swordsman who obviously hated his guts and already knew better than to trust him? Why?

"Lavi's right!" Lenalee chimed in, stumbling forward on unsteady legs. "We've got to stick together!"

"Yeah," someone else agreed. "We've got to-…"

Once again, Allen found himself rolling his eyes at the display. Within just a few moments, he had closed the distance between himself and the door, however, he had not been alone in doing so. Crowley, carrying a worn-out Miranda on his back, appeared beside him, sending him a resolute look which told of many things. Unwittingly, a wry smile formed on his lips at that as he stuck the key in and twisted it, watching as it gradually changed its appearance. Wasting no time, he turned the handle and the door creaked open to the room which lay beyond. He exchanged another look with Crowley and Miranda before entering, and they soon followed suit as the remnants of the party were hurriedly making their way over. "Hey, wait for us! Allen!"

_- _o0o -

"Honestly… what is this place?" someone asked for the umpteenth time, surveying the odd landscape of a stony desert beneath a night sky spangled with stars and rainbows.

Allen barely resisted making yet another eye roll, wondering if perhaps he should try answering them and see if that made them shut up. It was highly unlikely, and he was well aware of it, but since he had little else to do at that moment he figured he might as well. "This… is another sick creation of the diseased mind of Road Camelot, no doubt."

"Road who?" Crowley asked, all while several members of the party cringed noticeably.

Allen just shrugged in response. "That creepy little doll-collector. Gives me the shivers."

It was not a lie, technically speaking.

"Shut up for a minute," the raven-haired samurai snapped at them suddenly, eyes narrowing as he scanned their surroundings. "There's something in here."

"No shit, Sherlock," Allen snapped back at him, nodding his head off in direction of the Skin Bolic as the Noah of Wrath stepped out into the open from behind one of the cliffs.

"It's that Noah who's been hunting my general," the grumpy swordsman growled, getting into position and raising his sword. "I'll take it from here."

"Kanda…" the dark-skinned exorcist – Noise Marie, was it? – said, his voice carrying both a hint of warning and one of disapproval.

"But Kanda!" the peanut gallery insisted. "We can't leave you here!"

Allen found himself smiling wryly at this. "Sure we can, can't we… Kanda Yu?"

Said swordsman threw him a glare before turning away with a snort. "Tch."

_- _o0o -

Seeing to the fact that Allen was rather familiar with the particular branch of the family in which Skin Bolic was included, it had not been hard for him to assume that the Noah of Wrath was only in on all this due to the prime opportunity of fighting an exorcist to the death – and a decent one at that – and as such, Allen held no actual qualms about possibly leaving the grumpy-looking samurai behind and moving forward in case Skin Bolic proved willing to part prematurely with his entrusted key.

Allen let his eyes scan the members of the party, trying to discern which one of them could possibly be holding onto the thing he would need. Eventually, his eyes fell on the form of Chaoji Han – the one of the three stooges who had unfortunately been dragged along for the ride – and narrowed. Said idiot shifted somewhat uncomfortably under his intense scrutiny, opening his mouth – likely with the intention of asking him about it – before snapping it shut again, averting his eyes.

Allen thrust his hand out in response, a move which served to startle several others, and held it out towards the idiot, his palm held upwards. "Hand it over."

"What?" said idiot squeaked, unconsciously moving his hands to shield whatever lay in the depths of his pockets.

"The sweets, you oaf," Allen snapped, his voice betraying his impatience. "I know you've been carrying some on you."

The looks shot his way clearly indicated that people had thought he had finally succumbed to insanity. He let them think whatever they wanted to, immediately snatching the wrapped piece of confection which was held out to him as he in turn held it up high for the Noah to see.

"Hey, Skin – was it?" he yelled. "Will you trade the key for some candy if we leave you the guy with a ponytail?"

Looks of utter shock and disbelief were sent his way. Some of them would even have merited a laugh from him, but instead he just found himself suppressing a grin. They obviously thought he was insane – and for a pretty good reason at that – but only because they themselves had never received a crash course in how to handle Skin Bolic.

Besides, before long, he caught the key in his hand smiling triumphantly while the Noah unwrapped the piece of confection and consumed it immediately. "Then I'll just go ahead and excuse myse-…"

A hand landed heavily onto his shoulder, belonging to none other than the annoying redhead. "Allen, you can't!"

"We're not leaving anyone behind!" Lenalee insisted, receiving several nods in agreement.

Allen just snorted. "Why not?" he questioned. "He wants to be left behind and besides, it's only a question of time before he'll attempt to sic something on us if we don't."

"What? Kanda would never-..." the girl protested, but was cut off as the swordsman in question snorted, earning himself several looks from the rest of the party.

"No really, you would, wouldn't you?" Allen said, deadpan, receiving a scoff in response.

Lavi, taking note of the vaguely smug look on the swordsman's normally stony face, blanched. "Yu! That's dirty!"

"Shut up and move forward," the raven-haired exorcist hissed, turning his back to them once more.

"But…"

"I'll catch up."

Allen's face retained its blankness, but he smiled inwardly instead and did so wryly. _As if…_

He advanced on the door, sticking the key in and twisting it to unlock it, swiftly making his way through once it had been unlocked. Absentmindedly, he registered the members of the party – barring Kanda – following along, though some of them seemed a bit more reluctant than others. Lenalee protested loudly as Noise Marie brought her along, pushing her through the door before he himself took a step back, seemingly intent on staying behind.

"Kanda! Marie! What are you-…?" The door slammed shut and she scrambled forward, attempting to reopen it but finding herself unable to do so. Apparently, as would be expected of Road, the doors were one-way and permitted no one to go back. That was a good thing to know, Allen supposed. "Kanda! Marie!"

Allen closed his eyes briefly, heaving a sigh. Two down – they were highly unlikely to catch up after all – which meant he had six more to go. Wonderful, truly. Absolutely marvellous, yet somehow strangely unfulfilling…

He heaved another sigh, opening his eyes.

He had to keep on walking.

He had to keep on moving forward.

He had to make his way out before the Ark crumbled completely.

A hand landed on top of his head. He looked up, vaguely startled, coming face to face with Miranda as she had leant over from her position on Crowley's back, running her fingers through his hair. For her, it was an unexpectedly bold move, then again Allen could not exactly say that he was very familiar with her as a person, so what did he know. Unwittingly, he found himself closing his eyes once more almost leaning into the touch before he caught himself and slowly withdrew, forcing his mind to refocus at the task which lay at hand.

_Six more to go and two more doors to pass through_, he inwardly repeated. _Six more to go…_

For whatever reason, he found himself feeling slightly nauseous, but absentmindedly wrote it off as a possible side effect of the crumbling Ark.

_- _o0o -


	12. The Apprentice

_Last updated on the third of March last year? Really? It's been a while. Thankfully – for those of you who're still interested in reading this – I have returned with a proper plan of action this time around, making an extended future hiatus highly unlikely.  
_

_And, as a few of you should be able to surmise from all of this, the number of chapters in this has (once again?) decreased, not much so because of the removal of content but mostly because my Inner Editor remains steadfast about that it makes more sense to edit larger chunks of it at the time because it is a general hassle to be forced to mess around with too many chapters. On a positive note though, I doubt the aforementioned will even touch this story with a pair of pliers after this. Lovely._

_Cheers._

_- _o0o -

**The Apprentice**

_- _o0o -

He needed to keep on walking.

He needed to keep on moving forward.

He needed to make his way out before the Ark crumbled completely…

Time was running out – for all of them.

Six more to go, and two more doors to pass through.

He was feeling increasingly nauseous but honestly could not tell whether it was a possible side effect of the crumbling Ark or even a manifestation of his own guilt.

"Allen?"

He looked up, finally taking note of the fact that the others – the remaining six of the party – were looking at him somewhat strangely, worriedly. "Are you okay?" one even asked.

He nearly startled when an arm snaked up behind him. A hand landed on his shoulder, pulling him closer to the Bookman apprentice; a bit too close for comfort to be completely honest. It was a blatant invasion of his personal space, but retaliating openly would not help his situation one bit. The aforementioned apprentice – clearly noticing his discomfort through the way he remained tense and seemingly aloof – grinned at him. "We're in this together, remember?" Lavi reminded him as if admonishing him. "We've got to stick together, you know?"

There were scattered nods from people who no doubt agreed with the other's sentiment. Allen on the other hand finally decided to throw caution to the wind and promptly elbowed the other in the ribs, earning a surprised gasp followed by a muffled curse as he moved away so that he was once again ahead of the rest of them, heading down a dimly lit hallway with no specific goal in mind, instinctively aware of that it would all be the same regardless of where he headed anyway.

"Hey, wait up!"

He paused, but not to wait for them specifically but rather to stare at the playing cards that lay scattered on the floor ahead of them. Retaining his silence, his eyes scanned their surroundings for the telltale signs of an imminent ambush all while the rest of the group caught up to him, staring at the cards scattered about with a mixture of suspicion and wonder gracing the features of some of them. "Cards? Why are there cards all over the…?"

Someone crouched down; reaching for one of them with the seeming intention of picking one off the floor, but Allen kicked the hand away before they managed to. Lavi – the owner of said hand – yelped in surprise and pain, looking up at him with seeming surprise. "What the heck did you do that for?!"

Allen did not even deign himself to provide a response for that one, focusing his attention somewhere else entirely.

"Quiet," someone else responded in his stead. "There's something out there. It's coming closer."

The 'something' Crowley – the somewhat feral one – had detected proved to be a bunch of empty wine bottles that suddenly came rolling in; all of them expensive brands and all of them Cross' favourites. How positively sickening. "Bottles? Wine bottles? Why would there be-…?"

This ill-conceived and probably deadly prank carried all the signs of the twins, and if the wine bottles served as any sort of indication, he was pretty sure as to what they could possibly be planning and – not wanting to be caught up in it – he allowed his eyes to sweep across the various labels in sight and mentally processed the information they gave him before finally picking a probable target and swooping down to get it, flinging the bottle off into the far end of the hallway without as much as a second thought all while the others either looked at him in surprise or gaped openly and especially so when the bottle he had just thrown suddenly impacted on something unseen and exploded, making them aware of what Allen had already assumed considering the people he was most likely dealing with. "A bomb?! Allen, how did you-…?"

He did not deign himself to provide a response for that one either, and neither did he need to, seeing that the gun-toting and swearing pair responsible for it chose the moment to come stumbling out of the smoke, probably cursing his very existence before seemingly finding themselves at the very centre of attention and assuming rather cocky stances and attitudes to go along with them. "Heh… if it isn't the Apprentice…" Devitto jeered at him.

"The Apprentice, the Apprentice…" Jasdero echoed, waving with his gun around.

All the attention shifted from the pair to the Bookman apprentice who in turn looked very confused, pointing to himself. "Ehm… me?"

"No, not you, you dolt!" Devitto snarled, shifting his posture and pointing the gun right at them.

"Dolt! Dolt!" Jasdero echoed, imitating the motion.

"We're talking about the Cross bastard's apprentice!"

"Yeah! Cross bastard's!"

Oh _really_?

Allen slapped his forehead in an exasperated motion before finally looking to them, surveying them with fresh eyes. "Oh… it's you guys again."

"Yeah, us again," Devitto snarled right back at him with genuine irritation. "You didn't think you were gonna get away, did you?!"

"Did you?! Did you?!"

_Yes._ "I kind of did, but I suppose not," he finally responded, all while the others started giving him looks again. "How much?"

The redhead was by his side again, aiming to be discreet but very obvious in the way he leaned in to whisper the question most of them probably wanted to ask. "Hey… Allen, what are they talking about?"

He shrugged mildly in response. "Master's debts, no doubt; they're the Noah responsible for hunting him down and as such… the Bastard saw it fit to saddle them with his debts."

"What?! You can honestly do that?"

"Apparently." – Actually, he had been wondering about that himself as of late. – "Either way… if no one else's feeling up for a fight, I'll take it from here."

He stepped up or at least would have if there were not all these hands on his arms and shoulders, keeping him where he was. "Allen? Are you sure?"

He shook himself loose – or tried to, at any rate. "I've got a bit of a score to settle to be completely honest, so why not?"

"Hah!" Devitto sneered, still pointing the gun in their general direction. "If anyone's got a score to settle with anyone, then we're the ones who have one to settle with you, Apprentice!"

"We have! We have!"

"…But you're in luck."

"In luck! In lu-… Huh?"

Allen actually kicked up an eyebrow at this and he certainly wasn't the only one expressing some kind of surprise or shock at the implications of the Noah's statement and even more so once the Noah continued speaking. "We've got orders to let you through," Devitto said, eyes narrowing slightly in seeming disdain as he moved his gun so that he was no longer aiming at Allen but rather at the rest of the group who were noticeably startled by this quite ludicrous revelation. "You, alone."

There was nearly half a minute of dumbfounded silence before someone finally spoke up, saying what most were probably thinking. "Sounds like a trap."

"Don't let them fool you, Allen!"

Really, Allen could not help but wonder just who was fooling who in this case. "Right," he sighed, turning himself loose and sidestepping the attempts to catch him again, moving swiftly to put some distance between himself and the rest of the group to the latter's apparent dissatisfaction.

"Allen! What are you-…?!"

"Allen!"

He knew he was treading on thin ice, but time was limited and the twins had already offered him an opportunity to separate himself from the exorcists. He seriously doubted he would ever be given a similar opportunity if he let this one slip past him, and with that in mind, he took another step away from the group, moving sideways alongside the wall so that he would not end up right in the middle of an inevitable confrontation as Devitto pointed his gun at anyone attempting to follow, even going as far as to shoot an ice round at them in order to cut off the path between Allen and the others.

"Key?" Allen promptly asked, moving closer to the pair all while still keeping close to the wall, blatantly ignoring the shouts of dismay and seeming attempts to prevent him from moving along.

Devitto pulled out the requested key and threw it. "Have it. Now get out of our sight before I change my mind."

If the track record of the twins would serve as any type of indication, then said moment could be only minutes – if not seconds – away and he rapidly moved along, pausing only when he had made it to the second door, turning his head slightly as he put the key into the keyhole and twisted it. He caught a brief glimpse of what he had expected to see, found his stomach churning again and swiftly disappeared through the door and pushed it closed behind him, leaving the key in the keyhole.

"Allen! You damn traitor!"

The words should not have had much of an effect on him but he found that they still echoed in his ears as he had pushed the door closed behind him and collapsed against it, wishing he could close his heart just as easily as he had just closed that door. "Damn it… this is not the time to waver…" he found himself whispering as he got back to his feet and began making his way up the winding staircase – steps hovering seemingly in thin air – before him with heavy steps and a heavy heart. _It's either going against my family or going against my purpose…_

_It's either against the family or against myself…_

_It's either…_

He shook involuntarily as a sudden shiver ran down his spine, causing him to pause in his steps.

Absentmindedly, he took note of Timcanpy's seeming and continued absence, wondering whether or not the golem had returned to its former master or if it had ended up elsewhere.

His eyes hardened and he hurried up the stairs, having a quite decent clue as to what awaited him somewhere upstairs._ It's me against the world._

_It's me against…_

Suddenly, he felt dizzy and nauseous all at once. The world blurred before tilting dangerously, and he nearly failed to catch himself when his knees suddenly went weak and buckled beneath him. Dizzyingly, he realised that he had kept his Innocence invoked for far too long and that the extended invocation was probably what had drained him so – physically as well as emotionally. He forced it to deactivate, feeling how it resisted him a little, and then sat himself in a more orderly fashion on one of the steps and closed his eyes as he waited for his shallow breathing and elevated heartbeat to settle, which took a lot more time than he had anticipated. Then, as he heard someone approach from above, he concluded that he was not the only one surprised at the amount of time it had taken. "Allen?"

He didn't look up; he didn't even bother with opening his eyes because they felt like they were burning all of a sudden, as though tears were going to start leaking out of them the very moment he opened them. Really, was he crying? Why ever would he do that? He shouldn't have been sad; he should have been… What?

As anticipated, his eyes stung terribly when he opened them, finding a concerned-looking Road standing on the step right below him and vaguely sensing Tyki somewhere behind and above him. Suddenly, she reached out for him and – finding himself suppressing a sudden urge to flinch – Allen allowed the intrusion and soon felt the caress of cold fingertips against his cheek, and he was honestly surprised when they left it and that her thumb was now red, stained with what could possibly have been blood, or possibly blood intermingling with tears. Either way, it puzzled him greatly because it made no sense; he had no memory of crying and he sure as Hell did not have any memory of crying blood – at least not as of late. He was even more puzzled when Road suddenly put her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Oh Allen…"

"What's going on?" he whispered, suddenly aware of how Tyki had shifted behind him.

The arms just tightened their grip._ "Skin's gone."_

Skin Bolic – the Noah of Wrath – had perished, presumably by the hands of the two exorcists that had been left behind to fight him, and – presumably a bit belatedly – Allen felt the echoes of the other's death through the link they shared as hosts of Noah Memories and genes. If anything, his Innocence had probably played a part in delaying the reaction he would eventually suffer from the other's death, and now once he had deactivated it, the other's death hit him with full force and he was already weakened from earlier, making him easy prey to it.

Tears dried, he was helped up and led further up the winding case of stairs. Before long, they reached a room near the top and Allen looked at the long table and the chairs surrounding it and at the food on top of it, seeing but not really comprehending. "Come on," Road ushered him, holding his hand as Tyki held him by the shoulders to keep him steady. "Let's eat."

It was a bizarre situation, to say the least, to toast and drink to the honour of the only recently deceased. With all due honesty, Allen had appetite for neither drinks nor solid food, but knew that if he did not eat at least something, there was a certain risk that either of his fellow kin would take it upon themselves to feed him, seeing that both of them were very well aware of the amount of food he generally required, both with and without having made active use of his Innocence. Still, the situation would turn even more bizarre when Road – obviously discontent at his lack of appetite – hopped out of her own chair and took a seat on the armrest of Allen's instead, and had opted to trying to coax some pudding into him when the exorcist party – alive and well, for the most part – decided to come storming into the room.

In the next moment, Allen thought he could even hear the sounds of several jaws dropping to the floor and in the one that followed that, indignant and disbelieving sputters were heard. "Allen?!" the Bookman apprentice sputtered, seemingly out of breath as though he had spent the better part of the last couple of minutes running. "I know I called you a traitor and all, but I didn't mean for you to take it literally!"

Allen – leaning his chin onto his hand as he kept one of his elbows propped against the armrest Road wasn't sitting on – just surveyed them tiredly in response. With all due truthfulness, he supposed he should be explaining himself or something, but even so, he just wasn't…

Then, Tyki got up and Allen instinctively found himself watching the man warily as the man walked past him. A familiar hand was thrust down and ruffled his hair a bit playfully, and he swatted it away with a slight scowl on his face. "You know, branding someone a traitor is a pretty big deal and all," Tyki said, removing his hand and taking another couple of steps so that he now stood between Allen and Road and the exorcists. "But never mind that. This guy hasn't betrayed anyone – not _yet_ at any rate – but our rematch had to be temporarily postponed since that frail body of his couldn't handle the rebound and because I really don't see the point in fighting someone who is already on the verge of collapsing." – The Noah turned to Allen, flashing him a somewhat apologetic smirk. – "No offence or anything, love."

If looks could kill, then Tyki Mikk would have been impaled on a stick several times over. Then again, with it being Tyki Mikk, such a treatment probably would not have the desired effect.

As if sensing that Allen was about to retaliate, Road – having abandoned her quest to force some pudding into him – threw her arms around his neck to his quite obvious discomfort and dismay, and from the gasps he heard he wasn't the only one reacting to it.

"Road Camelot, right?" Lavi began, taking a step forward and to the side, moving closer all while moving away from Tyki Mikk, no doubt wary of the man's abilities. "Get away from him."

"But I love him," Road protested, halfway playful and halfway sincere as she continued to cling to him.

Allen kindly resisted rolling his eyes at the spectacle. "Road… kindly remove yourself."

"Oh Allen, you as well?" – She levelled him with a look. – "You're still no good as a fighter, so you better stay put… and what better way is there than to have me here to make sure you don't go anywhere?"

Yes, as if there were any other places to go seeing that Road in practice controlled all exits.

He sighed exasperatedly, and was about to formulate some kind of response when he heard voices calling out to him. He looked up. "Are you okay, Allen?" Lenalee asked, ever concerned. "Did they do anything to you?"

Well, they had sought him out, hugged him tightly and then forced him to consume food. That would definitely count as something, but definitely not as something he needed to inform the others about. "I'm fine… I think?" he finally responded, observing how Road's attention gravitated towards the exorcists and how her amber-coloured eyes narrowed slightly.

"Don't interfere."

And that certainly did not bode well for the future of the aforementioned exorcists, and neither did it bode well for the situation as a whole, especially so now that Tyki looked just about ready to start up a fight with not only one but several exorcists, all while wearing this huge grin on his face as though Christmas had decided to arrive early this year. In a simple layman's terms, the figurative shit was about to hit the fan and Allen – who should by all means have been overjoyed at this seeing that this would no doubt save him some trouble later on – found himself reconsidering a few of his life choices.

Lavi took another step forward and to the side again. Tyki Mikk's eyes flickered to him momentarily before once again refocusing on Kanda and Marie, paying little or no attention to Crowley and Bookman who stood in-between them and Lenalee, Miranda and the other – Chaoji or whatever his name was – as the latter group stayed in the background, lacking the means to interfere. Granted, all of them looked a bit worse to wear, but they were surprisingly intact considering the fact that two of them had managed to do away with Skin Bolic and because the others – with or without assistance from the former two – had managed to get past Jasdero and Devitto, leaving Allen to quietly re-evaluate his opinion in regards to their abilities, both individual and in terms of cooperation.

Lavi took another tentative step forward, keeping a keen eye out for Tyki Mikk's reaction. Road appeared to be quite amused by this, and finally loosened her hold on Allen before leaving her position altogether, jumping down from the chair. "Let's play, Bookmen… Vampire."

She had barely even uttered the words before there was a sudden shift in their surroundings, and then the three people closest to the door leading into the room found themselves enclosed in what seemed to be transparent boxes hovering close to the ceiling. "Whoa. What is this?!"

Lavi immediately turned to the one responsible, his single visible eye narrowing, and he wasn't the only one reacting to it. "What did you do?"

Road took a step forward, Lero at her disposal. "I don't like interference, so I had them step aside. They're safe though, for now."

Allen found himself included in the aforementioned interference, seeing that he was now enclosed in a similar transparent box which surrounded the chair he was still seated in; it would seem as though Road was quite adamant about having him stay put for the time being. Admittedly, if he did just put his mind and some effort into it, he would no doubt be able to break out of it should he need to, but then again…

"You'll let them go if we win, right?" Lavi said.

Allen could practically hear the other swallow soundly all while a sweet smile adorned Road's face. "If that's what you want, sure." – The sweet smile gradually began morphing into something much more sinister. – "But… that's only if you win."

_This won't end well_, Allen quietly decided. _At all._

_- _o0o -

Before long, a giggling Road emerged from her dream dimension beside the collapsed forms of the Bookman, said man's apprentice and Crowley. "That was too easy."

Allen realised that he shouldn't feel upset; he shouldn't feel upset and he should have rejoiced, but found that he honestly could not. Acting out of sheer frustration, he brought his fist against the barrier containing him, at which Road – now liberated from her active fighting task – shifted her attention to him. "Don't move, Allen," she said, clearly admonishing. She went on to send a pointed look in direction of the others, both those active in fighting a positively exalted Tyki as well as those trapped much like he was. "If you do, they'll die."

"If I move, they'll die, yet if I don't, we'll all die anyway," Allen spat right back at her, halfway feigning it and halfway meaning it.

"They will. You won't," Road said, moving closer to his temporary prison. "Duke's orders."

He snorted in response. "Funny. I seem to remember him ordering my assassination only a couple of weeks ago," he said, narrowing his eyes slightly. _I don't want this_, he mentally conveyed. _Not like this_.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, indicating that she had received the message and that she did not like it. "Don't make this any harder for yourself, Allen," she admonished him instead, serious in her demeanour. "At this rate, you'll-…"

It really wasn't the time to waver, but he wavered even so.

_It's either going against my family or going against my purpose… against the family or against myself…_

_It's me against…_

He was starting to feel lightheaded again, and his vision cancelled out for a brief moment as there was a sudden spike of pain emanating from his left arm. His skin felt cold and clammy yet hot at the same time, and he was probably exhausted – mentally and physically – to a point where he would probably pass out and not come to for quite some time if he exerted himself any further, but he still found himself refusing it; he still found himself refusing the notion. _I don't want this_, he quietly repeated as another spike of pain ran through him. _Not like this_.

He did not even have to consciously invoke his Innocence before he felt its presence clearly within him, already adhering to a summon he had yet to give.

"Allen?" Someone spoke to him, but he couldn't tell just who it was and his vision was temporarily obscured as he felt the cold mask of Crowned Clown against his face, and before he knew it, he had been liberated from his temporary prison and the cloak was moving around him protectively. Initially, his legs nearly folded beneath him, but he found himself stabilised by his Innocence.

"Allen?!" There was another voice now – no, several, acting as one – and it sounded urgent. He found that he couldn't respond to it though, seeing that all of his efforts went into the rudimentary tasks of remaining standing and simply breathing, but his Innocence – seemingly aware of what he was not – reacted for him and caused him to dodge an attack from behind and into jumping backwards to put a greater deal of distance between him and whoever had attacked. In his own very limited state of awareness, he reasoned that it probably wasn't Road since Road was probably one of the last people who would attack anyone directly; she greatly favoured mind games over physical combat, and Allen doubted she even dabbled in the latter. Then again, with Tyki busying himself with Kanda and Marie, who could possibly be…?

Again, he vaguely sensed an incoming assault that he parried, only to vaguely sense another one coming in from an entirely different direction, strengthening his already formed suspicions, suspicions which were confirmed as he finally managed to force his eyes back open so that he was able to lay eyes on his new opponents, meeting the soulless eyes of not only one but three people.

It was Bookman, Lavi and Crowley, all of them seemingly under the influence of whatever Road had done to them within the other realm.

"You should give it up, Boy," Tyki advised him, no doubt aware of what was going on even though he was still in the middle of battling against Kanda and Marie. "At this rate, you'll only get yourself killed."

Allen only gritted his teeth in response.

_- _o0o -

"_I know."_

_- _o0o -

"_But the least I can do is to drag at least one of you down with me."_

_- _o0o -

Already exhausted or not, he knew what he had to do. Even so, it took a lot of energy for him to reach up and to pull the sword from his arm, and – praying he was not making a fatal mistake – swung his sword right at his opponents, only vaguely registering the cries of horror and dismay from those watching as he sliced right through Lavi, who – instead of being sliced in half and keeling over – shuddered slightly as though he had just woken up from a bad dream, his single visible eye widening slightly at him where he stood as Allen readied himself for another swing. "Allen? What are you-…?"

"Duck," Allen said, cutting him off, and the Bookman apprentice quickly adhered to his command and threw himself down to the floor right before Allen swung the sword once more, this time at Crowley who managed to avoid it all while Lavi himself quickly scrambled back to his feet with his hammer in hand, looking around with a very startled look on his face.

"What the Hell just happened?"

"Complications," Allen swiftly responded, dodging another attack while simultaneously trying to get in a clean hit. "Mind control."

He felt himself getting more and more detached from the situation, as though he had mentally distanced himself from it all; from the fight as well as from the exhaustion. He was already operating on autopilot, largely relying on his Innocence to assist him in dodging while his own thoughts were mainly focused on when and how to strike, retaining only a vague sense of awareness as to what went on beyond that. "You've dealt with Crowley before," he found himself saying, addressing Lavi. "Deal with him until I can slash him."

He gained a wide-eyed look in response, but the other did not question him as he himself went on to deal with Bookman the best he could, finding himself both parrying and dodging the other's attacks. For an old man, Bookman was a decent fighter, but even while working on autopilot, so was Allen, even though it did take some effort to finally manage to restrain the other for long enough to cut him with his blade, before swiftly repeating the motion with a partially subdued Crowley. The pair had barely even regained their senses and begun blinking owlishly at him before he sensed another incoming attack. The next thing he knew, he felt a hand on the side of his head and in moment that followed, he felt his head being slammed into something hard – possibly a pillar – before his senses cancelled out completely for a few moments before he once again partially regained his senses to the sound of people shouting his name. "Allen!"

He was on the floor, barely conscious with his limbs nearly completely unresponsive. "That ought to keep him down for a while," he heard Tyki say, sounding annoyingly smug. "Now then…"

There were voices again, calling out to him. "Allen!"

He couldn't move. "You should really worry more about yourselves, you know?" he heard Tyki say, taunting them from the sounds of it. "_He_'s only a bit concussed; _you_'re the ones who're gonna die…"

A concussion? Well, that did kind of explain why his head hurt so much, but why…?

"Why?!" Someone shouted – a girl whose name was suddenly lost to him – her voice leaking both frustration and imminent despair. "Why are you doing this?! Why?!"

"We're enemies," he heard Tyki say, sounding amused. "Besides, your comrades killed one of mine, so I might as well return the favour… with interest at that."

It vaguely occurred to him that the other's voice was closer now, coming from a point right next to him. "Then again…" he heard Tyki say, a hint of thoughtfulness to his voice. "I suppose I might as well return the favour by killing their general and by leaving you guys here to rot instead. After all, this place won't last for long…"

"You bastard…" Voices again, some of them shouting, others growling. "Get away from him!"

"Allen!"

He vaguely detected a presence right above him, and before he knew it, he felt a hand on his face, fingertips brushing against one of his temples. "Allen, Allen, Allen," he heard the other saying, admonishing him. "You're so much more trouble than you're wor-…"

Within an instant, he felt his Innocence responding to him again and reacted instinctively. When he finally managed to pry his eyes back open, and when his sight had cleared enough, he was met by the sight of a clearly shocked Tyki Mikk looking down upon him with a line of crosses running horizontally through him at chest level. "Did you just…?"

Concussed or not, realisation dawned upon him and his eyes widened beneath the domino mask just as the other brought a hand to his forehead, shock and surprise giving way to gradually increasing agony. As the other's greyish skin began to drain of its colour and that the other's stigmata seemed to grow fainter, Allen – understandably shaken – dropped his invocation and found himself staggering a bit when the support it had given went away, leaning heavily against a nearby pillar all while looking on perplexedly at Tyki Mikk where he lay – now human and deathly pale – all while the eyes of others alternated between the two of them. "…-llen?"

_What have I done?_

"Allen?"

_What the Hell have I done?_

"Allen?!"

He felt his legs fold beneath him and he heard voices calling out to him and footsteps running towards him, footsteps which came to a sudden stop.

"Don't interfere." Road; she sounded agitated and that certainly did not bode well for anyone, least of all for him. _"If you move, I'll kill them,"_ he heard in his mind and he forced his head up and his eyes back open, confirming without much difficulty that Road had the other's at "candle point", so to say.

For some strange reason, he suddenly found it quite difficult not to burst into laughter. Really, the situation had become so absurd in just the last couple of minutes and now things were really going to Hell. Another look at Tyki Mikk – now stirring and brimming with the malice of a newly awakened Noah – pretty much confirmed it. _So this is it, huh?_

_- _o0o -

"_Allen?"_

_- _o0o -

"_Allen!"_

_- _o0o -

"_The ground's giving away. We have to-…"_

_- _o0o -

"_Allen!"_

_- _o0o -

_So this is it, huh?_

He plunged into the darkened depths.

_- _o0o -


	13. The Will of the Fourteenth

_To be frank, I don't… particularly like this chapter. Then again, it could have been worse... I guess?  
_

_Cheers._

_- _o0o -

**The Will of the Fourteenth**

_- _o0o -

Truly, he had fallen. He had fallen in many different ways, and stooped so low he found himself doubting he could actually sink any lower. Truly, what had he been thinking?

He had strayed from his path, losing focus and sight of his own purpose.

He needed to keep on walking; to keep on moving forward, but he…

Time was running out – for him; for all of them.

"…-llen?"

_What have I done?_

"Allen?"

_What the Hell have I done?_

"Allen?!"

He plunged into seemingly endless darkness.

_- _o0o -

"…_-llen…"_ There was someone calling him, calling out to him.

"_Allen…"_ The voice – it seemed to strangely familiar to him, even though he found that he couldn't quite place it.

"_Allen."_ There was a sense of urgency hidden within it, and he tried to force his eyes back open. He felt light yet heavy, and he took note of the distinctive lack of pain in the presence of unbelievable fatigue. "Where…?"

"_Wake up,"_ the voice ordered and he did so, finally managing to force his eyes open, finding himself on his back on a plane stone surface, looking up at a night sky he had not laid eyes on for quite a while.

"The Fourteenth?" he found himself whispering, because it could hardly be anyone else seeing that it surely wasn't Road.

Someone – a young man strangely reminiscent of a younger Tyki Mikk – stepped closer to lean over him, taking his startled surprise in stride. "In a manner of speaking."

Truthfully, he wanted little more than to either lash out or scramble away at that, but found that his body – which probably wasn't his physical one but a body nonetheless – wouldn't budge. "How?" he asked instead all while the other continued looking down at him with keen interest. "How is this-…? You're not even supposed to have… awakened yet…"

"Perhaps." The Fourteenth – or whoever he was – just continued to eye him with an eerie kind of calm, and Allen found himself thinking that it was almost as though he was now face to face with the bogeyman himself. "Then again, I am only the Fourteenth in a manner of speaking and not entirely."

_What?_ "What?"

The supposed bogeyman did not even blink at this, but a slight shift in the other's posture and expression told him the other was surprised. The Fourteenth – or whoever he was – straightened up slightly. "Judging from your reaction, you don't know me – which is kind of weird – but I can work with that as long as you're willing to humour me."

There was no accusation in the other's voice, but there was a hint of puzzlement present in it instead.

"Where is this place?" Allen finally asked, finally managing to sit himself up to survey the landscape.

"This place?" – The other made a vague gesture towards their surroundings – "Simply put, we're in my world, probably because of him."

"Him?"

The other held out a hand and a small ball of energy assembled right above it, growing wings and a tail and taking on a very familiar appearance.

"Timcanpy? How…?"

Allen had managed to get to his feet now, just as the other sent the Timcanpy lookalike into the air and it took flight, beating its wings once-twice-trice before once again dissolving into seeming nothingness, at which the other looked towards him, smiling wryly. "You have questions for me, do you not? Ask away."

The bogeyman was right in front of him, and Allen himself had the sneaking suspicion that he had just spent years fearing his own shadow. "Why's Tim…?"

"He is a golem, is he not?" the other responded, continuing to look at him intently, with the kind of intensity that was unnerving at best. "An artificial being created by magic for the sake of serving his creator…" – The other paused slightly, clearly studying his reaction. – "Yes… he is a being I made for the purpose of doing my bidding… my Timcanpy… in a manner of speaking."

_Doing your bidding… in a manner of speaking?_ "You left him with Cross?"

"I did leave him with Cross…" the other affirmed. "But only for the time being until the new host of my Memories turned up… in other words, before you came along." – _What?_ – "I knew that I would no doubt suffer Memory damage in case I failed, and as such, I infused a part of myself into Tim as well."

"What do you mean?" Allen asked, shifting his posture slightly, unsure as to whether he should be wary or intrigued.

The other looked at him for a few moments, studying him intently from the looks of it before speaking up once more. "I created Tim with my magic and as such I left behind a piece of myself within him… but even so, he is still his own being, separate from me," the other eventually explained, still eyeing him. "Simply put, I am a fragment – a programme – running parallel to Timcanpy's own, sharing the same hard drive and capable of accessing the same files."

_What? _"You lost me the moment you started talking about computers."

"Fair enough." Again, the other did not seem annoyed by this or even impatient, taking it all in stride as though he had been expecting it all somehow. "All in all," the other went on. "It's like with the Earl and the akuma… the latter are beings created out of dark matter, created by the former; they are their own separate beings, but they are still a part of the Earl… his hands and feet, I suppose… just like Tim took on the role of being my hands and feet in the sense that he continued to move even after I lost my body and left this world, and as he remained an independent existence even after you had turned up… and in return, using the data he obtained on you and on your actions, I started filling in the blanks."

A fragment?

He looked upon the other with new eyes, quietly relieved that it was not the real Fourteenth that stood before him but rather some kind of echo that did not have any power over him but could still hold onto quite a few of the answers he had been looking for. "Tell me…" he said, knowing this was probably his only shot at ever asking such a thing. "Why you chose to betray the Earl all those years ago? A fragment or not, you should at least have had an inkling as to what-…"

"I had a little brother," the other responded without skipping a beat all while Allen felt his own heart skip several of them.

"A brother? An ordinary human?"

"Yes, a regular human," the other affirmed, tilting his head slightly to the side. "I cared about him enough to do what I deemed necessary when I learnt of the Earl's plan… I just wished for him to be happy… but I think made him unhappy instead… unhappy to such a degree that he went mad and wandered far and wide, seeking me…"

Allen eyes widened slightly. "Don't tell me…"

The pieces of the puzzle had all been there, but the connection he had been missing – the much needed clue – had only just become evident to him.

"Yes…" the other said, seemingly able to know what he was thinking. "You're finally seeing the connection."

"You're Mana's…"

Mana's long lost brother; the one Mana had been looking for.

He received a slight smile in return. "Neah was my name back then, but it mostly fell out of use once I became the Fourteenth."

A former bogeyman or not, the last vestige of the image melted away, revealing something strangely human – something strangely sensible and sentient – beneath it. Allen nearly held his breath. "Then…"

"Just as he sought me, I sought to be reunited with him… and I was, through you," the other explained. "And although it was only for a short time, I feel like I do owe you…"

_What?_ "You… feel like you owe me?" It was a highly foreign notion to him, and his surprise evidently showed as the other proceeded to let out a seemingly exasperated sigh.

"I cannot imagine what the Earl might have told you about me, but I am not your real enemy in all of this," the other began. "I am you and you are me; similar, yet different… I am Neah, not Noah; I share my existence with his Memories, but I am not the same as them… meaning that as long as you do not allow the Memories to take over completely, some part of 'Allen' will still remain."

_What?_ A sneaking suspicion crept over him and he was overcome with an intense urge to hug himself tightly to prevent himself from shaking. "Don't tell me… that madman…" – He looked up at the other, wide eyes narrowing slightly. – "Why should I trust you?"

_How can I trust? How can I trust anyone in all of this?_

The other tilted his head slightly to the side. "It isn't like you've got anything to lose now, is it?"

Allen swallowed soundly, not quite sure as to how to respond to that. "I do have plenty to lose though."

"And what is that?" the other asked, honestly curious. "Family? Friends? Comrades? I believe you already know… you're living on borrowed time. Your Innocence – however you came across it – will shorten your lifespan… and the Memories you host will eventually swallow you up… the only thing which remains to see is which one will put an end to both your existence and the Fourteenth…" – The other paused momentarily, smiling gently at him. – "There's still time to make things right… for the both of you."

Allen said nothing for a brief moment, momentarily dumbfounded. "Then why… is there a need to set anything right?" he found himself saying, once again on the verge of shaking. "It isn't like I'll live to enjoy it or anything… Besides, humanity is foolish and I've been the witness to countless people calling their loved ones back, giving the Earl a nearly endless supply of new akuma. As long as the world remains the way it is, with people refusing to acknowledge that death is the end, there will be tragedies and tragedies will give birth to akuma. With this endless supply at hand, how the Hell can he lose?"

He could clearly detect his own conflicted emotions coming out to play in his voice as he continued to ramble, his voice full of both frustration and some sort of resignation. "Also, tell me… What do I really have to live for?" he went on to ask. "I will die before I turn twenty; why should I give a damn about what happens to the world when there's nothing – nothing, I tell you – that I would ever give my life to protect. You had Mana, but what do I have?"

"You still have the akuma, have you not?" The other shifted slightly, by no means disturbed by the latest change in his demeanour. _"I live for the salvation of akuma alone, not to serve some corrupted justice or a God who has turned his back on us a long time ago… _Those words… do they sound familiar to you?" – Allen said nothing, keeping his mouth stubbornly shut. – "They should, seeing that you once uttered them… and at least at that time, those words were your truth and that was before you knew anything about the Fourteenth… What has changed since then?" – _Everything. – _"For the longest time, I feared that you too would become just a mad puppet just like the one the Earl has become, but you heard my voice and you actually snapped out of it and listened… unlike the Earl. Madness is his only master now, and someone needs to put a stop to his rampage…" – _No._ – "You wish to save the akuma, do you not? If the salvation of akuma is truly what you wish for then it is only logical to eliminate their creator, yes? Because… if there is no creator then there'll be no more akuma and you'll be able to save the souls of those which remain… Still, the souls of akuma are not the only thing you wish to save, are they?"

"What the Hell are you implying?" Allen finally snapped, unable to remain silent for any longer.

The other shifted again, staring straight at him without prejudice. "You might hate humans for their foolishness, but that hatred is not enough to erase the love you must have held at some point, the love that you're still unable to forget. You have loved and been loved, and there is no degree of hatred which can erase that."

_Love?_ Allen snorted in open disbelief. "As if."

"But it is true, is it not?" the other said, continuing to watch him. "You've had numerous chances to kill those exorcists, yet you haven't, not even when you could have done it with virtually no effort at all…"

"My plan B…"

"Your plan B is and has always been an excuse on your part," the other bluntly noted. "You _didn't want _to kill them, so you _convinced _yourself that you _needed_ them alive to act as some sort of insurance in case the Family betrayed you… and they will…" – Allen bristled slightly at this but voiced no open protest to it. – "The Earl warned you, didn't he? Telling you not to reveal yourself as the future Fourteenth… you know why?" – _Yes._ – "Regardless of whatever reasons I – as a person – might have had for my actions, I still killed a lot of them in my attempt to kill the Earl… and the Noah have long memories and do not forgive easily. Hence, there are quite a few of them who would have you eliminated in case they ever learned about your true identity…"

He wanted to be angry, but found his anger dissipating instead. "That's why…"

"Yes," the other said. "I believe that's why the Earl decided to keep you, allowing your Innocence to remain intact even with the risks it posed and sending you on all those missions where you were brought into close contact with the other side… He was testing you, over and over and over again, in order to provide proof of your unwavering loyalty to his cause so that the other apostles wouldn't have a choice but to accept you as one of them when the time of your awakening finally came around…"

Allen sunk to the ground onto a seated position, suddenly overwhelmed by a desire to laugh or cry uncontrollably. It was a highly foreign notion. "Huh… I should've known."

"But you did know about it to some extent, but you still preferred it to the alternative… seeing that Cross obviously failed in the aspect of treating you well," the other said, remaining standing. "Then again, he did give you something which you probably wouldn't have attained otherwise…"

Allen felt broken all of a sudden, as though he had only just realised he had wasted the last couple of years of his life on something utterly meaningless. "And what is that?"

"A broader perspective."

He looked up suddenly, meeting the other's amber-coloured eyes. _How so?_

The other shifted his posture once more, looking down at him. "Likely without any intention whatsoever, he taught you that things like 'good' and 'evil' are matters of personal interpretation; of perspective, if you will. They are not fixed to one individual or the other or any side or institution or way of life; there are no good guys and there are no bad guys, just different sides… methods… goals… and ambitions. He – as an operative of the Church – taught you that even though the Earl is his enemy, they are rather similar when it all comes down to it. He also taught you that you were weak for not being able to defend yourself against him, and as such you sought out the other side and attempted to use them to grow stronger, all while you used your perceived hatred of the man as your excuse to turn your eyes away from the sight of your new master doing things you really couldn't agree with…"

The urge to laugh returned to him suddenly. "Perceived hatred? Rightful loathing is another way of putting it."

The other remained outwardly unaffected. "You have your reasons for hating him, just as he probably had his reasons for hurting you; he is just one man amongst millions, billions even. Is he really worth sacrificing the lives and souls of the entire humankind for?"

"Why should I sacrifice so much for the world and humanity that has never given me anything?" Allen swiftly retorted, bitterness lacing his tone. "My parents abandoned me; society shunned me and despised me. But Mana was different; he picked me up when the world had abandoned me, even if something deep within me could tell that the love in his eyes when he looked at me was meant for someone else. I was content with being embraced by his misdirected love. I could never become his loved one, but I hoped that Mana would someday learn to love the true me as well… but he never did."

The other crouched down so that they were on the same level, looking at him intently. "How so?"

"And how would you know?" Allen responded, his voice reminiscent of a snarl. "How would you be able to-...?"

"I knew my brother better than anyone, even after he had lost his sanity," the other said seriously, remaining in a crouched down position. "He came to love you, just as much as he once loved me… and even though he gave you that curse and made sure you would never forget the suffering you unintentionally put him through, his love for you remains the same."

"I don't believe you," he responded, his voice a mere whisper.

"Believe whatever you like," the other said. "It is the truth."

"It's not my truth," Allen snapped right back at him.

"Perhaps not," the other yielded. "But it's still someone's truth."

That shut him up for a brief moment, allowing the other to continue speaking. "Once, when I realised there was no going back for me, I told Cross Marian to look after Mana for me, sending Timcanpy along with him…"

"And?" Allen found himself asking.

"And…" the other went on. "Presumably, from what I have been able to gather, I – as the Fourteenth – went ahead and executed an absolutely reckless scheme before going off to get myself killed… and then, before I knew what was going on, I found myself stuck in this place, observing the world through Tim's eyes as he in turn watched the new host to the Fourteenth's Memories."

"Me."

"Yes, you," the other affirmed.

"What about the Memories?"

"Memories are just memories," the other said, shifting his weight slightly. "If you're strong enough not to allow them to overpower you, then they hold no power over you."

"Okay?" Allen was not entirely sure as to what to say to that. "What must I do?"

"You must choose," the other offered him simply, rising up into a standing position. "Either you follow a madman to the end of the world or you break free and put an end to all of this."

He took a deep breath, shuddering slightly. "Do you want me to join the Order?"

"I don't want you to join anything; I am a programme, and have no will of my own," the other responded. "My role in this is not to control you; it's to provide guidance, but only if you wish for it. Still, in a way I am the same as you; my existence is limited, and like you, my time is running out."

"What happens if I lose control?" he whispered.

The other let out a slight sigh. "Then you will truly end up losing your sense of self and be swallowed up by the memories of Noah and become a mad puppet of destruction."

"Like the Earl?"

"Yes."

He looked up at the other with a sudden realisation. "You wanted to save him too, didn't you?"

The other just smiled bleakly. "Even if such was the case, it hardly matters now, does it?"

"I guess not."

"But," the other went on. "Regardless of which, we're both here now – in a matter of speaking – and in the end, that is all that matters."

"You said you were a programme, didn't you?" Allen suddenly found himself asking.

The other shifted slightly. "In a matter of speaking."

"You behave as though you are a thinking and feeling human being though."

The other shifted slightly yet again. "I am a fragment of the one you know as the Fourteenth, programmed to act as a failsafe in case something went wrong with the plan. As such, it is only natural for my programming to contain the codes for acting as though I was a thinking entity – which I am – and give the illusion that I am a feeling one – which I am not, not in the words original context at least. Admittedly, I am – in some ways – alive, seeing that I retain the ability to think and function and learn from the information Tim brings me, but in the end, my existence is limited to this place, leaving me unable to interact with the outside world up until you came to me."

"Yeah…" – Allen had actually been thinking about that. – "How _did_ that happen?"

The other just shrugged mildly in response. "It is not within my nature to guess."

"I thought you said Tim fed you information about the outside world," Allen said, frowning slightly.

"He does – normally – but the connection is a bit unstable at best and there is really no telling as to how much time has passed since the new data I receive get to me," the other explained, looking at him somewhat curiously. "Then again, I am not a sentient being, so the course of time affects me very little. However, sentient or not, I was programmed to take in, process and analyse new data, so I have to ask… How much time has passed?"

"Since when?" Allen asked.

"Since Neah."

He answered honestly. "I don't know."

"How old are you now?"

"Sixteen… I think."

"Sixteen?" The other's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's odd."

_Odd?_ "Why is it odd?"

"What about Cross Marian?" the other asked instead, eyeing him keenly. "How old is he now?"

_Why is he asking that?_ "As a rough estimate, I'd say he's somewhere between forty-five and fifty-five, give or take a few years."

"And what year is it now?"

He gave the year and the other's eyes widened momentarily before narrowing again. "Well, that… is just plain illogical."

_Illogical?_ "How so?"

"You are Allen, are you not?" the other asked instead, honestly curious.

He saw no reason to lie. "Yes, but it's an assumed name."

"But you are the host to the Fourteenth, are you not?"

"Yes."

The other took a slight step back, looking at him for a brief moment before suddenly averting his eyes, resting his eyes on something else entirely while mumbling under his breath. "How… peculiar… not to even mention illogical."

"Illogical?" Allen repeated, and the other's attention snapped back to him immediately – looking almost bewildered for a brief moment before calming.

"As I believe I have already mentioned, I am a fragment of the one you know as the Fourteenth, programmed to act as a failsafe in case something went awry, which it obviously did if one considers the results. No matter; I can work with that," the other finally said, holding a hand out for him to take. "In the end, I am a programme, and even I have an expiration date. For thirty-five years, I have been up and running, doing what I was ultimately programmed to do – protecting the Fourteenth's legacy – and now – now that you're finally here – I am to execute my final task and to step into my role as a failsafe. Regardless of the circumstances that brought you into my world and regardless of which memories you have lost, I can provide you with some answers. What you make of them however is up to you."

Allen eyed the hand, hesitating. "If I take your hand, what will happen to you?" he finally asked, looking up to meet the other's eyes only to receive another bleak smile in return.

"Does it matter?" the other asked somewhat rhetorically. "I am a fragment, Allen, not a sentient being. I am not alive, hence I cannot die. I consist of data which will be transferred to you. That's all."

_Take my hand,_ the other seemed to urge him. _Take my hand and see for yourself._

He reached out tentatively, and his fingertips had barely even brushed against the other's palm when a sudden jolt went through him, bringing him back into a state of relative wakefulness.

Everything – the pain, the situation, everything – came rushing back and he found himself gasping where he seemed to be lying on his side on a plane surface. Forcing his eyes open, he was nearly blinded by the immense whiteness of it all – of the room and of nearly everything in it. "This is…"

Suddenly, there was static coming from somewhere right next to him and he hissed in pain as it assaulted his ears, bringing a hand up to the side of his head, bare fingertips brushing against something cold and metallic – which turned out to be an earring – that he sure as Hell had not been wearing previously. _"You sure took your sweet time, brat,"_ a familiar voice greeted him over an unstable connection.

Another bout of nausea slammed into him and he nearly keeled over, feeling like he was going to be sick. Then, quite unexpectedly, he found himself recovering from it and actually managed to sit himself up on the floor all while his still concussed brain tried to fit the newly assembled pieces back together. "Hello Cross."

_- _o0o -


	14. The Master's Return

_I believe this chapter kind of speaks for itself, both in a positive sense and in a not so positive sense. For now, I shall make no further comment…_

_- _o0o -

**The Master's Return**

_- _o0o -

"Hello Cross." He sounded a lot calmer than he felt at that moment, but a hint of resignation still leaked into his voice, intermingling with undeniable bitterness all whilst he cradled his still aching head in his hand, quietly wishing for this newest nightmare of his to end and preferably do so swiftly.

For a brief moment, silence reigned, and since that bastard on the other end did not seem all that intent on breaking it, Allen found himself speaking up once more. "It pains me to admit it," he said. "It pains me to admit it, but my main reason for coming here – to this place, to this godforsaken country – can no longer be considered valid…" – he paused briefly, tired eyes scanning the room. – "I came here to kill you, to have my revenge, but now… it all just seems meaningless," he went on, and he spoke truly. "I still find you an utterly despicable person and I still think that you are a pathetic excuse of a human being, but I really can't say that I hate you, at least not enough to kill you."

_Not yet,_ his mind whispered. _Not until we manage to find another reason, another excuse, another way out…_

Truly, he had fallen, and this time around he was positive he could hardly sink much lower in regards to anything.

"_And what brought about this sudden change of heart, brat?" _Cross echoed right back at him through the static and Allen closed his eyes briefly in a feeble attempt to keep the world from swimming.

"Does it matter?" he responded, cradling his head. "He hasn't awakened yet."

There was a sound from the other end of the connection, sounding suspiciously much like a curse, and Allen's eyes narrowed slightly in response. "What I encountered was not the Fourteenth himself, but rather a piece of data programmed to contain part of his memories and personality, hidden away within his greatest creation," he finally said, testing the other's reaction.

"_Hoh…"_

"Is that all you have to say?" Allen asked bluntly, having stumbled over to the piano in the room, where Timcanpy had settled and was projecting an image – a score – featuring signs that proved strangely familiar to him.

"_What more is there to it?"_ Cross drawled right back at him, and even through the gradual increase and decrease of static, Allen found that he could hear the other without much difficulty. _"I had no idea that such a thing existed, but I can say that I am happy it did since it saved me the trouble of explaining the situation to you. You know what you're here for, right?"_

Tiredly, he surveyed the room – the secret room of the Fourteenth – all whilst narrowing his eyes at the blinding whiteness of it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the shadow there – lurking in the mirror – and found himself turning his head slightly, directing his eyes and attention towards it. "Back then…" he began, pausing momentarily to gather his thoughts. "Back then… I was blinded… by my hatred for you and forgot my purpose. I won't do the same mistake twice."

_It's too late to go back_, an inner voice calmly informed him, contradicting his mind's initial judgement. _Now, you can only go forward._

_I didn't want this_, he answered it, even though it was with all due likelihood an utterly futile thing. _I never wanted this…_

_Even so, you have to move forward,_ was the response. _Even so, you have to make the best of it all…_

Then, the voice of his former master – of Cross – cut into his inner thoughts, silencing them. _"Tch. That's what they all say, brat."_

_It might be what they all say, but what else can be said?_

"If you had just explained your mission to me beforehand, then I would've been more cooperative," he retorted, unable to keep some degree of bitterness from leaking into his voice. "I made the salvation of the souls of akuma my purpose, and you knew that but you still didn't tell me."

"_It was top-secret."_

Tch, top-secret?

He lifted the lid from the keys before pausing in his movements once more, addressing the other. "Still, that mission was part of your reason for picking me up, wasn't it? To create a connection to the new Musician so that it might benefit you once you got around to infiltrating the Ark on your mission to destroy the Akuma Plant…"

He heard Cross snort, muttering under his breath. _"Idiot. My reasons for picking you as my apprentice are my own."_

"Call me an idiot all you like, but I can't be that far away from the truth," Allen responded, remaining where he was, leaning against the piano. "Still, what continues to puzzle me is the fact that you went through all that trouble of taking me in as your apprentice only to mistreat me to such a degree that I went off to join your arch nemesis… Call me an idiot all you like, but at least give me some sort of reason? Was all that mistreatment and abuse some sick way of conditioning me into my future role? Were they just tools to break me down or to push me to such an extent that I felt like I had no other choice than to leave and join the other side, leaving you with a sleeper agent on the inside? If so, then tell me… was it all worth it?"

There was no response from the other end – only static – so he pressed on, previously unsaid words pouring over his lips. "For years and years, I tried to kill my own humanity and tried to forget that I was ever human, but I never succeeded since my hatred was not strong enough… not strong enough to erase the love I must have felt at some point, against better judgement. I was this close to beginning my descent into madness at a certain point…" – No, he had already descended; he had already _fallen_. – "I'm not you apprentice anymore; I left that path a long time ago, yet here I…"

"_You did venture on different paths than I expected, but in the end, you played right into my hands… again,"_ Cross' cut into it all, and Allen found himself heaving a sigh.

"Perhaps, but I came here by my own free will. I take no orders from you."

"_Shut up," _Cross barked right back, evidently impatient. _"Play the stupid piano. Take control of the Ark, weave your hopes into the music, blah blah blah… whatever, you should know the rest already without me telling you."_

Allen did not even bat an eyelid at this, a bleak but wry smile threatening to break out on his lips. "I do know the rest, but why should I go along with it?"

"_Do it."_

"Or else what?" Allen asked, unable to and rather unwilling to refrain from relishing the fact that he now – seeing that they were all in effect prisoners of the crumbling ark – held the other's life in his palm."What do you have left to threaten me with?"

"_I could shoot you,"_ the man readily offered, and Allen was positive he heard the sound of a gun – presumably Judgement – being cocked in the background.

"Using Innocence on a person hosting the Memories of Noah?" Allen responded, his face largely blank and his tone undeniably wry. "That surely doesn't sound like such a great idea, seeing that those Memories are what enables me to play it in the first place."

"_You're testing my patience," _Cross responded, and there was the sound of something crashing in the background, followed by yet another bout of static.

"And you're wasting my time," Allen responded without skipping a beat, waiting for a response.

"_Time is running out,"_ Cross informed him, as if he did not know that quite well already. _"Play it."_

"So… Not playing means we'll both die here?"

"_Feeling tempted to drag us all down with you?"_

_Yes._ "Mildly," he finally responded. "Seeing that I am going to die soon anyway…" – Sooner rather than later, if recent events served as any kind of indication. – "Luckily for you though, I still have things left to live for…" – He didn't – or just maybe – but in any case, he needed to continue this game of pretend. Indeed, he had fallen – fast and far – but even so, dying was still…

He positioned his hand, closing his eyes as he pressed down on a couple of keys, and as the scattered notes resonated within him, strengthening his resolve. "Go," he told Cross, taking note of how the connection had once again cleared up a bit. "I've halted the download, so make sure you destroy the plant."

The initial lack of response to this surprised him somewhat, and for a brief moment he wondered whether or not the other had actually heard him. Then, a slight sigh was heard from the other end and he found himself kicking up an eyebrow in response, seeing that heavy sighs were not exactly very characteristic of the mentor he had once – and to some extent still – demonised. _"I might not have done such a great job in fostering you as I could have,"_ Cross finally yielded, voice low but perfectly audible. _"But I really hate dirty brats."_

"Then I shall hope you'll never end up having any children of your own," Allen calmly responded, still leaning against the piano. "Because you'd make a lousy father."

There was an undeniable snort from the other end. _"Perhaps,"_ Cross yielded, his voice blunt. _"Then again, you seemingly turned out alright, so who knows?"_

Truly?

Allen sat himself down and played, his hands guided by an unseen force. Then, once he had played enough, he tore his hands from the keys and swiftly hid the latter with the designated lid, shifting in his seat so that he had his back turned against the piano, pulling his knees closer to his chest, hugging them. _I'm doomed._

Then again, knowing his luck – or rather, lack thereof – it ought to be a grave understatement.

_- _o0o -

_"We're in this together, remember?"_

_- _o0o -

_"We've got to stick together, you know?"_

_- _o0o -

"We're in the same boat, aren't we?" He directed his eyes towards the Fourteenth in the mirror where he sat, addressing the reflection. "But do we steer it onto a better course… or do we sink it?"

_- _o0o -

In the hours that followed, he came to learn that love has many expressions.

"Allen! Thank God you're alright!"

Some people – like Lavi – hugged.

"We were so worried about you! Why did you go off without us, you-…?"

Other people – like Lenalee – cried and slapped people in the face… or tried to at any rate.

"What the Hell are you hitting me for?" Allen snarled, having caught the first hand but been hit by the second, shoving the girl away none too gently, something which was curiously enough not openly remarked upon – or even noticed from the looks of it – as most others seemed to be far too busy enjoying themselves at his expense.

"That's Lenalee expressing her love; you'll get used to it," they laughed, and he wanted to escape but he couldn't, because while not physically restrained in any way, he was still trapped in the same room as them all, in the secret room of the Fourteenth in a room with a shadow only he could see. Truly, it was a terrifying scenario, especially seeing that all of those previously trapped within the previously crumbling Ark seemed to be either in excellent condition altogether or sporting already healing scrapes, courtesy of Miranda's still invocated Innocence.

"Anyways," Lavi finally said, amusement fading somewhat in favour of some degree of seriousness. "I'm glad you're alright, but why…?"

Being in the position that he was, Allen already knew that the question would arise eventually; that the matter would be brought up, seeing that it was bleeding obvious that he had played a major part in preventing the Ark from crumbling entirely with him having remained in the room, standing now but still hovering about the piano, not quite sure as to what to make of himself now that the most pressing matter of their continued survival had seemingly been dealt with.

Truly, such a troublesome question…

Thankfully – though he had never thought that he would ever think of said man's presence as something to be thankful about – Cross chose said moment to make his arrival, lazily stalking into the room as though he owned the place, momentarily diverting everyone's attention and thankfully enough making good use of it. "I had a mission to accomplish and I required some assistance."

"General!"

"Cross!"

Truly, that the day would come when Allen would actually come to draw a sigh of relief the moment Cross Marian entered the room.

_- _o0o -

A few minutes later, most had left it, either heading off to explore the Ark on their own in smaller groups or in attempting to keep up with Cross to make sure that the man did not once again disappear whilst only one of the exorcist party remained in the control room with Allen.

"Say, Allen… How is it that you can control this place?"

Lavi – Bookman Apprentice – was curious to a fault and – once he felt like it – also far too observant for his own – not to even mention Allen's – good. Truly, Allen would have to tread carefully around this one since the latter was by no means as stupid or careless as he made himself out to be…

Allen shrugged mildly in response, his face and body language schooled not to betray anything beyond some mild discomfort and exhaustion and nothing of the I-have-just-switched-sides-again and if-anyone-finds-out-what-I-am-I-will-be-killed. "I told you I was a special case, didn't I?"

It was a weak excuse at best, but it was still better than denying things outright.

"…Are you a Noah?"

How troublesome indeed…

A wry smile came to adorn his pale features. "An Innocence-wielding Noah? Now that would have been very interesting…"

His sole listener did not seem convinced, not even in the slightest. "Then why is it that you can-?"

He needed to deal with this quickly. "My foster father taught me," he finally responded. "Then he went and died and then I had this foolish idea of bringing him back…"

The single emerald eye watching him widened noticeably. "Don't tell me…"

"He cursed me," Allen said, knowing well that the other would catch him if he lied outright. "In return, I destroyed him. Then that bastard turned up to rope me into this grand scheme of his…"

"Grand scheme?" Lavi echoed, genuinely intrigued.

"To infiltrate the Noah's Ark and to ultimately destroy the Akuma Plant within it."

"But…"

"But obviously, he didn't tell me right away and since he didn't treat me very well, I eventually took off," Allen explained. "Of course, then I was finally made privy to his purpose and realised I had my work cut out of me. And of course, seeing to the fact that it was top-secret and all, it wasn't like I was able to ask for any assistance either, leaving me to hunt him down all on my own…" – He paused briefly before continuing. – "And obviously, as some of you have already borne witness to, things didn't always work out splendidly…"

"Got yourself captured," Lavi grinned. "What a disgrace," he added a bit playfully.

Allen merely snorted, folding his arms across his chest. "And thanks to that, the Earl started paying attention to me, so I thought I'd try to make use of it," he said. "Let's just say that one backfired big-time."

"In other words," the Bookman apprentice responded, obviously in the middle of trying to piece everything together. "Something you did caught the Earl's interest, initially leaving him calling for your imminent assassination and then for him to order that you'd be taken alive, right?" – Allen nodded once at this. – "And those Noah – while certainly vicious enough on occasion – began treating you differently; familiarly even…"

_Uwa… dangerous. _"I think…" Allen began, weighing his words and options very carefully. "That they think that I might be someone that I'm not."

"And that someone is…?"

"Complicated."

"Huh?"

He shifted his posture, averting his eyes. "It's complicated."

"In other words…" Lavi began. "You don't want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

He clearly saw movement out of the corner of his eye, indicating that the redhead had got up from where he had been sitting, nearly closing the distance between them in just a few strides.

"Allen?" The annoying redhead now stood beside him, looming over him. "You don't look too good."

The other was too close; suffocating him with his presence. Allen took a step back, finding that it took a great deal of effort on his part not to stumble. "I'm not feeling too good either…"

_- _o0o -

"_Allen?! Hey?!""_

_- _o0o -

"_Allen?!"_

_- _o0o -

"_Let him rest."_

_- _o0o -

"_General Cross?"_

_- _o0o -

"_He's had a rough week. Leave him be."_

_- _o0o -

Collapsing pathetically into the arms of a highly irritating and far too observant Bookman apprentice had by no means been a part of his vaguely formulated plan, and neither had having Cross of all people just waltzing in to save him from whichever fate would no doubt have awaited him at the hands of the aforementioned who – in a rare fit of something possibly related to panic – had appeared just about ready to start giving first aid when Allen had just suddenly dropped. Then again, what was all the more unusual – possibly even outrageous – and all the more perplexing was the fact that Cross hadn't actually made use of this opportune moment of him being far too out of it to reveal something positively incriminating, and had instead opted for the latter option, that is to reveal little or nothing whatsoever. When asked about the truth of Allen's statement, Cross had merely shrugged and claimed that Allen had answered truthfully to the extent of his own knowledge, which was true, in essence.

Even so, even though the man ought to have owed him at least that much for in essence having saved both of their hides, Allen still found himself questioning whether or not he ought to feel indebted to the man, and especially so considering all the bad blood that still lay between them. To be truthful, Allen really did not want to feel as though he owed the man anything, and all things considered, there was no guarantee whatsoever that the man would continue to vouch for him in the future. As such, it made sense to rope another into this forming scheme of his, because if he – in the offhand case that he ended up with the Order after all – wanted to make it, he would need more than just one or two potential allies on the inside; he needed sympathisers, and he needed them imminently. If not, then he would no doubt have had a fit about the persistent redhead nearly constantly hovering about him, keenly watching his every move.

"Stop staring," Allen finally snapped at him, finally having reached the end of his patience.

"I'm not staring," Lavi protested, holding his hands up slightly.

Silver-grey eyes narrowed slightly. "You are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Are."

Again, he averted his eyes, scoffing. "I'm not falling for that."

"Pity." The grinning moron who wasn't actually a moron took a seat beside him where he sat on the sofa which was the only piece of furniture in the white room besides the piano and the stool accompanying it. "So… you're alright now?"

"I've been better." – _Definitely._ – "Then again, I've been worse."

"But you'll live, right?" the redhead quipped.

Allen smiled wryly in response. "Hopefully."

"You're not sure?"

Had it been entirely genuine, the concern would no doubt have been heart-warming. Now however, it was just sickening.

"Well, if you're beginning to feel queasy, tell me," the Bookman apprentice readily offered, his voice gradually dropping from cheerful to thoughtful. "And if you just want to talk otherwise, talk."

"Are you here to interrogate me?" Allen inquired somewhat rhetorically, even though the answer to that question ought to have been obvious, all things considered.

"Why would I be here to interrogate you?" Lavi responded, feigning hurt and ignorance. "You've explained yourself and Cross has verified the info you've given us, so why would I…?"

"Because you're curious," Allen snapped, cutting him off. "Because you're a Bookman."

"Apprentice," the latter corrected with a smile. "But curious, yes."

Again, Allen averted his eyes, wishing there were other things to talk about. "Where are the others at?"

"They're off wandering about, probably looking for an exit."

"Then why are you here?"

Truly, the apprentice did not even seem bothered in the slightest at the hidden accusation. "Well, someone had to keep an eye on you and I offered, so here we are," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "So…" he then said, pausing momentarily before continuing. "Will we talk?"

Persistent. "If we talk, what will happen?" Allen asked instead, answering the question with another question.

The Bookman apprentice remained quiet for a few moments, clearly contemplating his words and alternatives before formulating himself. "It depends entirely on what you want to happen, I suppose."

Hoh, what a positively ambiguous response…

Allen tilted his head slightly, looking at the other out of the corner of his eye, gauging the other's reaction. "As a Bookman, you're supposed to be a neutral party, yes?"

The other shrugged a bit helplessly in return, but once that was over with there was little hiding the calculating glint in the other's eye. "Supposed to and failing at it, I'm afraid. But if you want me to keep your secrets, then I'm all ears."

Truly, how positively devious…

He averted his eyes, refusing to acknowledge the one watching him so intently. "I can't."

"You… can't?" The other sounded doubtful.

Allen retained his neutral expression. "They're not my secrets to tell."

"Then whose secrets are they?"

Truly, curious to a fault…

"You're a Bookman," Allen said, giving the other a meaningful look. "You figure it out."

_- _o0o -

"_Leave."_

_- _o0o -

"_General Cross, what are you-…?" _

_- _o0o -

"_Hey!"_

_- _o0o -

If anything, it occurred to him what a positively outlandish thing it was for him to actually feel slightly relieved when Cross Marian once again decided to come waltzing in, throwing out the Bookman apprentice along with other remaining members of the peanut gallery. Then again, all in all, the situation was positively outlandish in itself, so he supposed it made sense that nothing and no one really made sense anymore besides Cross, who was obviously his regular rude, foul-mouthed and scheming self despite it all. Then again, Cross had probably been scheming with something like this in mind in the first place, however twisted of a thought it might have been.

"How do I do this?" Allen asked, dropping all pretence now that it was only him and Cross in the room with Timcanpy flying over to the piano, settling down to once again on to the piano to project the score. Admittedly, he had in effect once taken control of the Ark in order to halt the download, but all in all, the fact that he had managed it probably had more to do with the situation and accompanying circumstances than with skill on his part. Obviously, skill had certainly played its part, but it was only so much that he could do without guidance if he did not know the limitations of the power bestowed upon him by the Fourteenth, and with Cross being the scheming bastard that he was, there was no doubt about the man having a hand in it all and likely also knowledge in regards to how it functioned, both in regards to the Ark and in regards to the Fourteenth.

"Visualise," Cross instructed, looming over him. "Use your imagination."

"You're not very helpful," Allen retorted, his hands in position and hovering over the keys.

Cross snorted, shifting slightly behind him, causing him to suppress the urge to flinch or turn around as though half-way expectant that the other would put a bullet in his back in case he wasn't careful. "And you're not very skilled."

"You're not the best teacher," Allen responded, keeping his voice perfectly level all whilst studying the keys with renewed interest.

"You're not the best student either."

_Truly…_

Hands in position, he began to play, initially slow and a bit hesitantly, gradually gaining more confidence. Initially, there was some amount of resistance which was gradually being worn down as his hand movements became more habituated up until then point when he stopped playing, lifting his hands from the keys without moving from his seat and without looking at Cross. "There, it's done… I think?"

"You've done well." Truly, to get praised by Cross he must have fallen; to be praised by such a man, he must indeed have fallen to immeasurable depths.

"Is that all?" Allen asked, because it could hardly be all, seeing that the aforementioned man had yet to leave even though he had moved closer to the door's exit.

"Later, you'll need to open another one," Cross informed him.

"Where to?" Allen responded, still not turning to face the man.

"The Asian Branch, since you've never been to the European Branch."

"You're bringing me into the Order?" This time around, Allen turned, shifting in his seat so that he was watching the other who now stood in the doorway, pausing but not turning to face him. "What happens… if they find out about Him?"

Receiving no answer, he narrowed his eyes. "Answer me."

"With things being the way they are, there will no doubt be an investigation." Cross finally shifted slightly, shifting his weight and leaning onto one side of the doorway, lighting a cigarette whilst levelling him a look of seeming – and by no means unexpected – distaste. "You've covered your tracks, but not well enough, and even if I were to vouch for you, I doubt the higher-ups would let you slip away that easily."

_No._ "I could just leave, you know," Allen readily offered instead. "I could just drop the rest of you off with the Order and then…"

"The Earl will hunt you down…" Cross snorted, exhaling a bit of smoke before returning to his cigarette. "And if you run, the Order will know that you are a traitor."

Allen averted his eyes, suppressing a sudden urge to cradle his head in his hands. "How can I be a traitor to an Order I have never joined in the first place?"

"Even so," Cross went on, giving him that self-same look of distaste. "You were chosen to fight."

"And if I choose not to?" Allen asked, silver-grey eyes once again flickering to rest upon the still quite imposing figure of his former tormentor.

Cross' overall facial expression did not change. "Then you would have to live with that choice and all the consequences that came of it."

"Damned if I do, damned if I don't, huh?" Allen snorted, shifting in his seat and levelling the other with a look. "Say… if you had managed to mould me into a proper exorcist, would you have sent me to the Order completely ignorant of my connection to Him?"

Another wisp of smoke was exhaled. "Probably."

_Obviously._ "And if they had discovered me, would you have left me to my fate?"

"Would you really like an answer to that?"

He averted his eyes again, directing his eyes towards the ever present reflection of the Fourteenth. _No._

_- _o0o -


End file.
